Typhoon Bringing Heavy Rain Slowly Heads toward Taiwan, 4,000 Evacuated

 A car moves along the shore in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, as Typhoon Krathon is expected to hit the area. (AP)
A car moves along the shore in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, as Typhoon Krathon is expected to hit the area. (AP)
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Typhoon Bringing Heavy Rain Slowly Heads toward Taiwan, 4,000 Evacuated

 A car moves along the shore in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, as Typhoon Krathon is expected to hit the area. (AP)
A car moves along the shore in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, as Typhoon Krathon is expected to hit the area. (AP)

A typhoon bringing strong winds and torrential rainfall slowly advanced Wednesday toward Taiwan, where thousands of people have been evacuated from vulnerable low-lying or mountainous terrain.

At least 93 centimeters (3 feet) of rain has fallen in the coastal Taitung County in the past four days and 29 centimeters (11.4 inches) in the major port city of Kaohsiung ahead of Typhoon Krathon.

The typhoon, packing maximum sustained winds near the center of 173 kph (108 mph) and gusts of 209 kph (130 mph), is expected to make landfall early Thursday on Taiwan’s densely populated west coast, according to the island's Central Weather Administration.

Typhoons rarely hit Taiwan’s west coast, affecting instead the mountainous, eastern side of the island.

Authorities shut schools and government offices across the island and canceled all domestic flights.

In the eastern Hualien County, more than 3,000 people were evacuated from townships vulnerable to landslides. Almost 200 people in the southwestern city of Tainan and more than 800 residents of the southern Pingtung County were also evacuated.

Before noon Wednesday, the center of the typhoon was around 130 kilometers (81 miles) southwest of Kaohsiung, moving northeastward at around 8 kph (5 mph). It has been weakening and will continue to do so after landfall, the weather administration said.

Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai earlier warned residents against approaching areas prone to flooding and landslides near rivers, the sea and the mountains. He likened Krathon’s intensity to that of Typhoon Thelma, which in 1977 devastated Kaohsiung and caused 37 deaths.

In Kaohsiung, most stores and restaurants remained closed for a second consecutive day. Shoppers emptied supermarket shelves of essentials including bread, meats and instant noodles.

Almost 40,000 troops were on standby to help with rescue efforts.

The typhoon on Monday lashed northern Philippine islands, where four people were killed and at least 5,000 were displaced, officials said.



Death Toll in Attack on Germany Market Rises to 5, Scholz Calls for Solidarity

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt Reiner Haseloff, and German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser visit the site where a car drove into a crowd of a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany December 21, 2024. REUTERS/Christian Mang
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt Reiner Haseloff, and German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser visit the site where a car drove into a crowd of a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany December 21, 2024. REUTERS/Christian Mang
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Death Toll in Attack on Germany Market Rises to 5, Scholz Calls for Solidarity

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt Reiner Haseloff, and German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser visit the site where a car drove into a crowd of a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany December 21, 2024. REUTERS/Christian Mang
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt Reiner Haseloff, and German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser visit the site where a car drove into a crowd of a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany December 21, 2024. REUTERS/Christian Mang

Germans on Saturday mourned the victims after a doctor drove into a Christmas market teeming with holiday shoppers, killing at least five people, including a small child, and wounding at least 200 others.

Authorities arrested a 50-year-old man at the site of the attack in Magdeburg on Friday evening and took him into custody for questioning.

He has lived in Germany since 2006, practicing medicine in Bernburg, about 40 kilometers south of Magdeburg, officials said.

The state governor, Reiner Haseloff, told reporters that the death toll rose to five from a previous figure of two and that more than 200 people in total were injured.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that nearly 40 of them "are so seriously injured that we must be very worried about them.”

Mourners lit candles and placed flowers outside a church near the market on the cold and gloomy day.

Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser traveled to Magdeburg.

The chancellor called on the nation to stand together against hate.

Faeser ordered flags lowered to half-staff at federal buildings across the country.