Taiwan reopens, cleans up after Typhoon Krathon slammed into island
Workers in southern Taiwan began cleaning up debris-filled streets on Friday soon after the Central Weather Administration (CWA) lifted its typhoon warning for Typhoon Krathon, which made landfall a day earlier.
The deadly typhoon downgraded southern Taiwan to a tropical depression after killing two and injuring over 600 others across the island, with one person reported as missing.
Additionally, nearly 130,000 homes still without power as of Friday.
The warning was lifted early Friday as the storm slowly dissipated after slamming into the island the day before, bringing mudslides, flooding and destructive winds.
In the coastal city of Kaohsiung, where schools and offices remained closed, workers raced to clean up trees and advertising signs that still blocked many streets and a light rail track.
“All roads nearby, big or small, they all become inaccessible. So going to school and going to work tomorrow will be difficult,” a Kaohsiung resident surnamed Chan told AFP Thursday night.
“I think that there will need to be a lot of tough clean-up work to be done to clear all this up. This disaster in Kaohsiung is quite severe.”
More than 1,000 soldiers have been deployed to assist in cleanup efforts in the southern seaport city, the defence ministry said.
“The storm circle of Krathon enveloped Kaohsiung for 60 hours. In some areas, the rainfall was higher than (July’s) Typhoon Gaemi, and a record Level 17 strong wind was also measured at Kaohsiung Port,” Mayor Chen Chi-mai said in a Facebook post.
“All city government units are making every effort to repair the damage.”
Wind speeds of 56.3 metres per second were measured in Kaohsiung on Thursday, according to the CWA.
Powerful winds uprooted trees, blew cargo containers off a pier, and shattered the glass doors of shops and banks across the city.
Local TV footage showed convenience store workers standing behind a glass door trying to brace it before it was shattered by strong gusts, sending goods flying inside the shop.
In southern Pingtung, which also remained shuttered, the typhoon hampered rescue efforts after a fire tore through a hospital, killing nine people on Thursday.
Taiwan is accustomed to frequent tropical storms from July to October but scientists have warned climate change is increasing their intensity, leading to heavy rains, flash floods and strong gusts.
