Taiwan braces for impact as Super Typhoon Mangkhut approaches
Lessons learned from last week’s Typhoon Jebi lead to early planning as the island prepares for the worst
Taiwan is bracing for Super Typhoon Mangkhut, described by weather authorities as one of the strongest this year, which may hit the self-ruled island on the weekend.
Mindful of the power of Jebi, which killed at least 11 people and left a trail of destruction in Japan last week, the island’s government had already started preparing for Mangkhut, even before it was upgraded to a super typhoon on Tuesday, a government spokeswoman said.
With maximum winds of 200km per hour, Mangkhut is moving at a speed of 21km per hour in a westerly direction, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau.
As of Wednesday morning, the typhoon was spotted 1,865km east-southeast of Elunabi, the southernmost tip of the island.
“If there is no change in its direction, we will not rule out the possibility of issuing a sea warning on Friday afternoon,” Cheng Chuan-fang, weather bureau forecaster, said.