Taiwan braces for direct hit as Typhoon Haikui makes landfall

Taiwan braced for the first direct hit by a tropical cyclone in four years as Typhoon Haikui made landfall on the island on September 3.

The eye of the storm was over eastern Taitung at around 3:40 p.m., the Taipei-based Central Weather Bureau said on Facebook. The typhoon’s radius enveloped much of Taiwan, bringing heavy rain and wind to the island, and disrupting power to more than 40,000 households, Bloomberg reports.

Authorities had earlier shuttered offices and schools and cancelled more than 200 flights on Sunday as Typhoon Haikui bore down on the island.

“Various ministries of the central government are in contact with local governments to understand the needs of each area and to provide assistance at any time,” President Tsai Ing-wen said in a post on Facebook on September 3. “This is a menacing typhoon, and its strength is increasing. We must not take it lightly.”

The weather bureau said it would be the first tropical cyclone to score a direct hit on Taiwan since Typhoon Bailu struck in August 2019.

Local authorities in eastern and southern Taiwan counties including Taitung, Kaohsiung and Pingtung ordered businesses and schools to close as a precautionary measure.

As of 2 p.m. Sunday, 226 domestic flights and 41 cross-strait and international ones were cancelled, according to Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration, while more than 100 domestic and cross-strait sailings were suspended. Roads in some parts of the island were also closed.

Haikui was located about 20 kilometres north-northeast of Taitung as of 4 p.m. September 3, packing sustained winds of up to 155 kilometres per hour (96 miles per hour) and gusts of up to 191 kilometres per hour.

After Taiwan, China’s southeastern seaboard is the next region at risk from Haikui, coming not long after Typhoon Saola plowed into Hong Kong on Friday.

The typhoons that ravage the western Pacific pose a potential threat to some of the world’s most cutting-edge manufacturers, such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and ASE Technology Holding Co. Many Taiwan-based companies producing high-tech components are facing plunging orders from clients as demand for technology in the US and Europe dries up.