Taiwan: Taipei Prepares for Typhoon Morakot

Taiwan’s weather bureau issued land and sea warnings today for a mid-strength typhoon. It’ll be the most severe so far this year, with heavy rain and wind gusts of up to 173 kilometers an hour expected overnight before the storm heads to China.

Typhoon Morakot is expected to reach northern Taiwan by early Friday, with sustained winds of up to 137 kilometers an hour.

In Taipei on Thursday, heavy rain and low cloud cover, led to poor visibility for car drivers. Some of the city’s tallest buildings were barely visible. Others were being boarded up and windows taped to prepare for the storm.

Morakot will grow to a category four typhoon early on Friday, passing directly over Taipei before reaching southeast China by Saturday, at a weaker category two.

Typhoons regularly hit China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Japan in the second half of the year. They gather strength from the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean, or South China Sea, before weakening over land.

(NTDTV)