Taiwan shuttered offices, schools and tourist sites across the island Wednesday ahead of a powerful typhoon that already worsened seasonal rains in the Philippines, killed at least 12 people and displaced 600,000, the AP reports.
Typhoon Gaemi’s outer skirt was bringing heavy rain to much of Taiwan, where a direct landfall was expected Wednesday evening in the northern county of Ylan.
Fishing boats were recalled to port amid turbulent seas, while air travelers were rushing to board overseas flights before the storm arrives, amid numerous cancellations, the report adds.The storm prompted the cancellation of air force drills off Taiwan’s east coast and ferry services Tuesday.
Gaemi, which was called Carina in the Philippines, did not make landfall in the archipelago but enhanced its seasonal monsoon rains. The rains set off at least a dozen landslides and floods over five days. 35,000 of the 600,000 displaced went to emergency shelters.
