Taiwan warns of storm surge from powerful Typhoon Krathon, mobilises 40,000 troops

Taiwan mobilised nearly 40,000 troops on Tuesday to bolster rescue efforts as the powerful Typhoon Krathon approaching its populous southwest coast is expected to bring a storm surge and the coastguard raced to locate 19 sailors who abandoned ship.

Taiwan is regularly hit by typhoons but they generally land along the mountainous and sparsely populated east coast facing the Pacific, but this one will make landfall on the island’s flat western plain.

Krathon is forecast to hit the major port city of Kaohsiung on Wednesday morning, then work its way across the centre of Taiwan heading northeast and into the East China Sea, Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.

Kaohsiung, home to some 2.7 million people, announced schools and businesses would close and told people to stay at home as Krathon – labelled a super typhoon by the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Centre – approached.