Weaker but still powerful, Typhoon Krathon slams into Taiwan, 2 dead

KAOHSIUNG — A weakened and "weird" Typhoon Krathon slammed into southwestern Taiwan on Thursday (Oct 3), forcing a second day of closures in financial markets, while grounding hundreds of flights and having led to two deaths.

Krathon hit land as a much weaker category one typhoon around midday in the major port city of Kaohsiung, blowing down trees and street-lights while sending debris flying.

As pounding rain, howling winds and storm surges coincide with high tide, the government urged people to stay at home.

"It's very powerful," said Chou Yi-tang, a government official in Siaogang district, home to Kaohsiung's airport. "It's been a long time since such a big storm made a landfall here."

No major casualties were reported, however, Chou said, adding, "Fortunately people were well prepared this time."

Typhoons often hit the east coast facing the Pacific, but Krathon is unusual since it directly hit the west coast, leading Taiwan's media to label it a "weird" storm, and also because it hovered off the coast before reaching land.

Shortly after dawn, residents of the city of about 2.7 million began receiving text messages warning them to seek shelter from gusts of more than 160kph, while its port was lashed by record gusts exceeding 220kph.

Speaking before the typhoon hit, Mayor Chen Chi-mai, urged people to stay indoors. "If you don't have to, please avoid going out," he told reporters.

More than 100,000 homes lost electricity, half of them in Kaohsiung, state-run utility Taipower said.

Taipei university student Liao Shian-rong, 24, came to Kaohsiung with some classmates to chase the storm, bringing equipment like barometers to study what he called a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity.

"We are being hit by the eyewall now