Taiwan readies for typhoon that killed 13 in the Philippines

Waves break on the coastline in Yilan, Taiwan

Taiwan shuttered offices, schools and tourist sites across the island on Wednesday ahead of a powerful typhoon that already worsened seasonal rain in the Philippines, killed at least 13 people and displaced 600,000.

People paddle a boat past a submerged bus in Manila, on Wednesday. Pics/AFP

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 travellers were rushing to board overseas flights before the storm arrives, amid numerous cancellations.

On Wednesday morning, the typhoon was east of Taiwan moving at 18 kilometres per hour with maximum sustained wind speeds of 183 kilometres per hour, the Central Weather Administration said. In the capital Taipei, heavy rain was falling, but high winds had not yet arrived. Gaemi, which was called Carina in the Philippines, did not make landfall in the archipelago but enhanced its seasonal monsoon rain.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever