(Oct 30): The most powerful typhoon in almost six decades threatening to barrel across Taiwan this late in the year has raised the prospect of another suspension of the island’s US$2.5 trillion (RM10.92 trillion) stock exchange by a storm.
Super Typhoon Kong-Rey has intensified as it skirts the Philippines and tracks towards Taiwan, where it’s expected to make landfall on Thursday afternoon. The storm has maximum sustained winds of 125 knots (232km) per hour, according to the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
That makes the typhoon equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane.
Should Kong-Rey prompt authorities to suspend trading, it will be the first time since 2015 the exchange has been closed three times in a year due to typhoons. Krathon this month and Gaemi in July led to halts. Neighbouring Hong Kong ended its decades-long practice of shutting markets during storms in September.
The last typhoon of similar strength to make a direct hit and track over Taiwan so late in the year was Gilda, which struck in mid-November of 1967, according to data from the island’s weather agency. In 2007, Krosa — also of similar intensity — clipped the northeastern part of the island before tracking towards mainland China.
Fuelled by warm sea surface temperatures and low wind shear, Kong-Rey has undergone rapid intensification — classified by winds jumping by 55km per hour or more within 24 hours. Parts of northern Philippines are getting more than 200 millimetres (eight inches) of rain, days after Tropical Storm Trami caused widespread flooding across its main Luzon island.
Typhoon Krathon
Ship crossings on 12 routes and a number of domestic flights have been cancelled, according to Taiwanese authorities. The Taiwan Coast Guard also rescued 17 crew members from a Chinese cargo ship overnight after the vessel was impacted by Kong-Rey’s strong winds.
Earlier this month, Krathon stalled off Taiwan’s southwest coast for days before making landfall, dumping record amounts of rain and causing agricultural losses of about NT$650 million (RM88.44 million).
Additional rainfall from Kong-Rey on already waterlogged soil could heighten the risks of flooding and landslides. Some mountainous areas could get as much as 1,200mm through Friday, according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency, which cited the local weather agency.
The Taiwan Centers for Disease and Control has warned of heightened risks of melioidosis, with the spread of the infectious disease often exacerbated by bacteria getting flushed out of contaminated soil by heavy rains.
Shanghai rain
After making landfall, Kong-Rey is expected to weaken slightly as it traverses northwestward across Taiwan, then re-emerge in the Taiwan Strait. From there, it could edge towards the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian as it curves into the East China Sea, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.
Parts of Zhejiang province, a manufacturing and tech hub, will get as much as 200mm of rain over 24 hours from Thursday morning, according to the China Meteorological Administration. The Shanghai municipal government has warned that the city could see its heaviest rainfall since 1981.
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