TAIPEI, Taiwan: Taiwan has canceled parts of its main annual Han Kuang exercises scheduled for Tuesday as authorities accelerate preparations for what they see as the most damaging typhoon to hit the subtropical island in nearly four years.
Typhoons are common in this part of year near Taiwan yet the country has not been directly hit by a storm since 2019. The development has stirred vigilance among the officials.
Ranked a category-4 super typhoon on a scale of 1 to 5 by Tropical Storm Risk, Typhoon Doksuri is likely to enter the Bashi Channel that separates Taiwan and the Philippines in a west-northwesterly direction and approach waters off Taiwan’s southern coasts before making landfall in southern China, according to the weather officials.
Taiwan’s defence ministry has canceled parts of the military drills, citing safety concerns and the need to make preparations for the looming storm.
Weather Bureau of Taiwan has issued sea warnings and said it will issue land warnings for its southern counties later Tuesday, urging people there to prepare for heavy rains and strong winds.
“Taiwan has not seen any typhoon making landfall in more than 1,400 days, and that’s why I urge all government ministries that they must gear up and make preparations,” Premier Chen Chien-jen said in a post on Facebook.
“I’d like to remind citizens not to underestimate the typhoon threats.”
It was unclear how the storm could further impact the five-day military exercises, which is set to take place throughout the island running week.
In the southern port city of Kaohsiung, authorities were rushing to collect hundreds of containers drifting on the sea after Palau-flagged container ship Angel sank off Taiwan’s southwestern coast last week.
