Taiwan girds for weakening Typhoon Krathon, shuts down for second day

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan: Taiwan on Thursday girded itself for the arrival of a weakening Typhoon Krathon which has killed two people so far, as the island shut down for a second day with hundreds of flights grounded and financial markets closed.

Krathon is forecast to make landfall around midday at the major southwestern port city of Kaohsiung, as a much weaker category 2 typhoon, though the government is warning of torrential rain and storm surges along the coast.

Shortly after dawn, residents in Kaohsiung, a city of some 2.7 million people, received text message warnings telling them to seek shelter from gusts more than 160 kph (100 mph).

The fire department reported two deaths as the approaching typhoon brought torrential rains across the island, both on the mountainous and sparsely populated east coast - a man who fell while trimming a tree and another man whose vehicle was hit by a falling rock.

The typhoon is forecast to slowly work its way up Taiwan's flat western plain and weaken further into a tropical depression by late Friday.

All domestic flights were cancelled for a second day, as well as hundreds of international ones.

Taiwan's financial markets closed for a second day too.

Typhoons often hit Taiwan's east coast facing the Pacific, but Krathon is unusual in that it will directly hit the west coast.

The Kaohsiung government has been particularly cautious in its preparations given the last time it was stuck by such a storm, 1977's Typhoon Thelma, 37 people died and the city devastated.

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