ALBAWABA - Ahead of what is expected to be the strongest typhoon in 30 years, the Taiwanese government ordered all cities to declare a day off in addition to hundreds of flights canceled.
According to Taiwan's Central Weather Administration, the storm will make landfall on the island's hilly and thinly populated east coast, bringing powerful gusts and torrential rain to nearly the whole island.
Kong-rey, a super typhoon, decreased a little overnight but remained intense, packing gusts of more than 250 kph (155 mph), according to Tropical Storm Risk. According to Taiwan's meteorology agency, it will be the largest typhoon to hit the island since 1996.
Gene Huang, an official forecaster, warned that after striking the east coast, the storm will diminish and proceed toward the Taiwan Strait, urging residents across the island to stay at home due to the potential of high winds. "The size of the storm is very large and the winds are high," according to him.
Warnings for catastrophic winds of more than 160 kph (100 mph) were issued in the eastern county of Taitung, whose outlying Lanyu island reported gusts of more than 260 kph (162 mph) before several wind barometers went down.
The Taiwanese Ministry of Defense has put 36 thousand troops on standby to take part in the search and rescue operations while thousands have been evacuated from high-risk areas.
Taiwan's transportation ministry announced the cancellation of 298 foreign flights, all domestic flights, and 139 ferry services to and from outlying islands. Taiwan's high-speed train, which connects key cities on the country's populous western parts, continued to run at a significantly reduced capacity.
In Taipei, the local authorities reported that overground segments of the subway system had ceased operations due to high winds.
