Typhoon Podul made landfall in Taiwan on Wednesday, where authorities closed schools and government offices as heavy rain threatened more damage to agriculture in the island’s southeast.
The storm hit Taitung county on the east coast shortly after noon, moving across the southern third of the island at about 36kmph (22mph), at which rate it would head out to the Taiwan Strait and China by late afternoon, according to the Central Meteorological Agency.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong issued a Signal No 1 alert, the lowest on the scale, as the storm is expected to pass through a close range but without a direct hit.
Authorities have shut schools and government offices in nine cities and counties, including Kaohsiung and Tainan, and cancelled 252 domestic and 129 international flights, mostly at Kaohsiung and Taoyuan airports.
The areas affected are well south of the capital, Taipei, along with Taiwan’s main international airport and high-tech industrial base.
More than 5,500 people have been moved from vulnerable areas, the government said, some still recovering from storms earlier in the summer.
Rainfall of up to 600mm is forecast in mountainous regions over the coming days, raising fears of flooding and landslides.
Chu Chung-jui of the National Science and Technology Centre for Disaster Reduction urged residents in valley areas to leave, saying: “we must especially urge people living downstream to follow government instructions and evacuate”.
Podul’s outer bands were already bringing high waves and strong winds to the east coast by Wednesday morning.
Heat from the storm’s outer subsiding air pushed temperatures to around 35C in Hong Kong, with forecasts warning of rain, squally thunderstorms, and the possible upgrade to Signal No 3 if conditions deteriorate. Hong Kong airports cancelled 15 flights to and from Taiwan amid growing storm concern.
The storm is expected to cross the island’s mountainous spine, weakening before moving into the Taiwan Strait and towards China’s Fujian province.
The counties and cities of Tainan, Kaohsiung, Chiayi, Yunlin, Pingtung and Hualien on the east coast and the island group of Penghu in the Taiwan Strait are expected to take the brunt of the storm.
Typhoons typically hit Taiwan’s less-populated east coast hardest before losing force over the Central Mountain Range, but forecasters warn Podul’s size – with a radius of 120km – means it could still cause significant damage as it moves westward.
The storm arrives after weeks of heavy rain in central and southern Taiwan that damaged crops and disrupted power supplies to rural areas.
Typhoons often cause further harm to agriculture, with fruit farms and cash crops vulnerable to flooding and high winds.
Officials say recovery crews are on alert to restore electricity and clear roads quickly if Podul causes fresh disruption.
