Taiwan evacuates thousands and shuts schools ahead of Typhoon Haikui

The cyclone will be the first to make landfall on the island in four years

Huge waves at Yilan as Typhoon Haikui makes landfall in eastern Taiwan on September 3, 2023. AFP

Taiwan suspended airline flights, rail transport and ferry services along with school classes, outdoor events, and officials urged workers to stay home as the island prepared for its first typhoon in four years.

Haikui is expected to make landfall on Sunday afternoon and continue across the island towards Hong Kong and mainland China, where authorities in Guangdong province have advised residents to take precautions.

Almost 3,000 people have been evacuated, the Taiwanese government said, mainly in the east and south.

Parts of East Asia have experienced some of the heaviest rains and deadliest flooding this summer.

Dozens of people have been killed, including residents in the outlying parts of the capital, Beijing, which has suffered its heaviest rains since records began more than 140 years ago.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen told a meeting of disaster management officials this would be the first typhoon to make landfall on the island and cross its central mountain range in four years.

“Various ministries of the central government are carrying out measures to guard against the typhoon,” Ms Tsai said in a post on Facebook.

“As the path of the typhoon is still changing, I would also like to urge everyone to be on alert, be prepared for the typhoon, and to stay tuned to the latest information.”

Schools and offices have been closed as a precaution, and national parks and roads in the island’s mountainous centre were also closed.

The typhoon is expected to pose a “considerable threat” to most areas in Taiwan “with winds, rains and waves”, said Taiwan's weather bureau, urging the public to be “on guard.”

“I think this time it is serious,” Chang Jhi-ming, 58, told AFP in Taitung county.

“This is just beginning, the wind is just coming in and you can see trees toppling already.”