Taiwan is preparing today to welcome Typhoon Gemi, which is gaining strength, by closing financial markets, putting people off work for the day, canceling flights and putting the armed forces on alert amid forecasts of torrential rains, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Expected "Gemi" to be the strongest storm to hit Taiwan in eight years and make landfall on the island's northeast coast this evening, the local weather office said. According to the service, the wind speed near the center of the typhoon reaches 227 kilometers per hour.
After crossing the Taiwan Strait, the typhoon is likely to reach China's Fujian province tomorrow afternoon.
People were out of work and schools were closed across Taiwan, and streets in the capital Taipei were almost deserted during rush hour amid heavy rain that had already begun.
The government said more than 2,000 people had been evacuated from sparsely populated mountainous areas where there was a high risk of landslides due to "extremely heavy rain".
Almost all domestic flights were cancelled, as well as 201 international flights, the transport ministry said. All rail operators will cease operations from midday, with only the high-speed links between the north and south of the island continuing to operate on a reduced schedule, the department added.
The largest chip manufacturer in the world, TSMC, which is also the main supplier of "Apple" (Apple), said it expects its factories to operate normally during the typhoon, having activated routine preparations.
The typhoon is expected to bring up to 1,800 millimeters of rain to some mountainous areas in central and southern Taiwan. Taiwan's Ministry of Defense said it had put 29,000 military personnel on standby to help deal with the fallout if needed.
"Gemi" and the southwest monsoon brought heavy rains to the Philippine capital region and the northern part of the country. The number of victims there rose to 12 people. According to the Associated Press, 13 people died.