Super Typhoon Maria set to hit Taiwan, island on lockdown

Super Typhoon Maria set to hit Taiwan, island on lockdown

Schools and offices across Taiwan have been ordered to close and hundreds of flights have been cancelled as the island braces for a powerful and life-threatening typhoon. Soldiers are on standby amid fears of landslides and flash floods as Super Typhoon Maria bears down with 130mph winds and torrential rain. The Central Weather Bureau said the north and east of Taiwan would bear the brunt of the storm, expected to make landfall at 5 pm local time (9 am GMT).

The government has told schools and offices in the north-east to shut by 4 pm and more than 30,000 troops have been placed on standby. “We urge the public to be vigilant and to co-operate with any preventative evacuation,” interior minister Yeh Jiunn-rong said. Airlines have cancelled at least 250 flights out of Taoyuan International Airport, close to the capital Taipei, while ferry services have also been suspended.

Alan Reppert, a senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, said Maria’s “excessive rainfall” could trigger “significant flooding”. “Mudslides are a serious concern in the higher terrain,” he warned, adding that the typhoon “threatens lives”.