TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan canceled parts of an annual military exercise on Tuesday as authorities stepped up preparations for what they said could be the island’s worst typhoon in nearly four years.
Storms are common this time of year near Taiwan but the mainland island has not been directly hit by a typhoon since 2019, prompting officials to urge caution.
Typhoon Doksuri, classified as a category four typhoon on a scale of 1 to 5 by Tropical Storm Risk, is expected to enter the Bashi Channel that separates Taiwan and the Philippines in the west-west direction and approach the waters of the southern coast of the island before reaching southern China, weather officials said.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry has canceled parts of the annual Han Kuang military exercise scheduled for Tuesday, citing security concerns and the need to prepare for the coming storm.
Taiwan’s weather bureau issued marine warnings and said it would issue land warnings in its southern regions later Tuesday, urging residents there to prepare for heavy rain and strong winds.
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“Taiwan has not seen any typhoon for more than 1,400 days, and that is why I urge all government ministers to arm themselves and prepare,” Prime Minister Chen Chien-jen said in a Facebook post.
“I would like to remind citizens not to underestimate the threat of hurricanes.”
It was not immediately clear how the typhoon might affect the five-day military exercise, which will take place across the island this week and focus on securing the island’s main airport and how to keep sea lanes open in the event of a Chinese blockade.
In the southern port city of Kaohsiung, authorities were scrambling to collect hundreds of boxes drifting out to sea after the Palau-flagged vessel Angel sank off Taiwan’s southwestern coast last week.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee; Editing by Stephen Coates)
Copyright 2023 Thomson Reuters.
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