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Strong winds and rain from Typhoon Doksuri have shut down schools and businesses in Taiwan's south and east, and as it moves towards China, it poses a threat to severely impede sea and aviation transport.
The powerful storm, which generated chest-deep flooding in the Philippines' northern Cagayan region, has claimed at least three lives. As of 7:15 a.m. local time, the typhoon, which had sustained winds of up to 155 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 191 kph, was positioned roughly 170 kilometres southwest of Taiwan's southernmost point.
While Taipei, which saw heavy winds and rain overnight, is still open, Taiwan has shuttered offices and schools in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Hualien, Taitung, Penghu, and Kinmen. Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways announced that the airport in Xiamen, China, will close for 24 hours starting at 6 p.m. tonight, cancelling all of its Thursday flights there. According to China's National Meteorological Centre, Doksuri is anticipated to make landfall on Friday morning in the coastal districts of Fujian and Guangdong.
According to its weather centre, China is still on the highest level of its four-tiered colour-coded system for severe weather. Although Hong Kong is keeping its standby No. 1 warning and is referring to it as a "severe typhoon," there is only a small likelihood that the city could experience heavy winds.
Schools in Xiamen, Fujian, have been told to stop hosting events like sports tournaments and summer camps, according to a report from Xinhua on Wednesday. According to CCTV, work and school would be cancelled from Thursday noon to Saturday noon in Zhangzhou, another city in the province of Fujian.
According to local officials quoted by AFP on Wednesday, the storm left at least two people dead in the Philippines, including a 16-year-old boy who was crushed by a landslip and a woman who was struck by a falling tree. The disaster risk reduction organisation is confirming allegations that five individuals were killed, according to CNN Philippines.
According to the Central News Agency and the regional disaster response centre, Doksuri led to one fatality in Taiwan.
