A volcanic island very close to the southeast coast of Taiwan experienced record-breaking winds due to typhoon Koinu, the weather service in Taipei announced today.

“Wind gusts with a maximum speed of 95.2 meters per second were measured on Orchid Island overnight, a new record in Taiwan,” the weather service said.

This is a speed equivalent to 342.7 kilometers per hour.

Taiwan authorities announced yesterday that more than 100 international and domestic flights would be canceled and schools closed in some areas of the southern part of the island ahead of Typhoon Koinu, the second to hit the island in a month.

More than 200 people had to be evacuated from their homes due to concerns about landslides in the southern part of the island.

The typhoon is expected to hit the southern part of Taiwan initially, but a weather service forecaster told AFP today that the path it will follow is currently “uncertain”.

Taiwan generally experiences frequent tropical storms from May to November, but Typhoon Haikui in early September was the first to hit the island directly in four years, bringing torrential rain, strong winds and forcing nearly 8,000 people to evacuate. their homes.

After Taiwan, the typhoon is expected to head toward the east coast of China’s Guangdong province, according to the Hong Kong Meteorological Observatory.