Thousands Of Taiwanese Evacuated As Typhoon Fung-wong Approaches

Taipei Illustration, Taiwan. (Wikimedia Commons/ynes95)

JAKARTA - Taiwanese authorities evacuated more than 3,000 people on Tuesday, issuing a ground warning of the arrival of Typhoon Fung-wong, which is expected to rain heavily on its mountainous east coast, recently hit by another typhoon.

The weakened Typhoon Fung-wong is expected to hit land on Wednesday on the island's southwestern coast around the main port of Kaohsiung, after killing 18 people when it hit the Philippines.

"Fung-wong may have been lowered to a weak typhoon, but we must not be careless," Taipei Mayor Chen Chi-mai told reporters.

Meanwhile, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te appealed to the public to stay away from the potentially dangerous mountains, beaches and other areas, in uploads on his Facebook page.

Separately, the Ministry of Transportation said 66 flights, mostly domestic, were canceled on Tuesday.

Typhoon Fung-wong is expected to cross the lower Taiwan region and enter the Pacific Ocean along the coast of the rare eastern region, Taitung and Hualien.

Last September, the typhoon that hit Hualien caused flooding and killed 18 people in Hualien.

The government, which has ordered evacuations in Guangfu City, the location of the deadly flood, said 3,337 people in four areas and cities had been moved to safer areas.

Hualien closed schools and offices on Tuesday, as did his neighbor Yilan.

Most of the victims killed in the Philippines were caused by landslides in the North Cordillera mountains, senior civil defense official Raffy Alejandro said at a briefing, with two people reported missing and 28 injured.