A weakened Typhoon Krathon slammed into southwestern Taiwan on Thursday (October 3), hitting the island with a storm that has killed two people so far and forced it to shut down a second day with hundreds of flights grounded and financial markets closed.

Krathon made landfall as a much weaker category 1 typhoon around midday at the major port city Kaohsiung. The government, though, still warned people to stay at home given torrential rain, strong winds and storm surges coinciding with high tide.

Shortly after dawn, residents in Kaohsiung, a city of some 2.7 million people, began receiving texted warnings telling them to seek shelter from gusts of more than 160 kph (100 mph). Kaohsiung’s port recorded gusts of more than 220 kph.

The typhoon is forecast to slowly work its way up Taiwan‘s flat western plain and weaken further into a tropical depression by late Friday (October 4) before reaching the capital Taipei.

(Reuters)