Nearly 3,000 people were urgently evacuated today from high-risk areas in eastern Taiwan, ahead of the arrival of Typhoon Haikui, which is expected this afternoon (noon Greek time), authorities announced.

The interior ministry said more than 2,800 citizens were evacuated from seven cities on the island, mainly in the mountainous county of Hualien.

Haikui has already produced heavy rains and is packing winds of about 140 kilometers per hour. It is expected to arrive over land in the sparsely populated Taitung region, which borders Hualien County, at around 17:00 (12:00 GMT).

Over 200 domestic flights were canceled and schools and offices were closed in the southern and eastern parts of the island.

37 international flights were also cancelled.

This will be “the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in four years,” President Tsai Ing-wen said.

At 09:00 [04:00 ώρα Ελλάδας]Haikui was about 180 kilometers east of the coast, according to Taiwan’s meteorological agency.

“It has strengthened a bit since yesterday [προχθές Σάββατο]”, noted its deputy director Fong Chin-ju, during a press conference in which he called on the population to “remain alert”.

The typhoon will threaten “most areas of Taiwan” as it will bring strong winds, rain and high waves, the deputy director warned, adding that the phenomenon will then move westwards towards the Taiwan Strait on Monday.

It is expected to be less powerful – a Category 1 or 2 – than Typhoon Shaola, which prompted warnings in Hong Kong and southern China before being downgraded to a tropical storm yesterday.

The military has been mobilized to help if flooding occurs.

The last severe storm to hit Taiwan was Typhoon Bailu in 2019, when one person was killed.