Taiwan closes schools and offices as Typhoon Kong-rey makes landfall on the east coast

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) – Schools and offices have been closed Taiwan on Thursday, a powerful typhoon made landfall as it passed the northern Philippines, bringing with it strong winds and flooding to much of the island’s eastern coast and northern areas. Flights and train connections were also suspended and 8,600 people were moved to shelters.

Typhoon Kong-rey had winds of 184 kilometers (114 miles) per hour, with gusts of up to 227 kilometers (141 miles) per hour, as it moved over eastern Taitung County. Parts of Yilan and Hualien counties were flooded by heavy rains, but many farmers in largely rural areas had already harvested crops, anticipating damage from the storm.

So far, no deaths or serious property damage have been reported in Kong-rey, Taiwan. Taiwanese authorities reported 27 people injured in the storm and said they were trying to contact a pair of Czech tourists who were hiking in Hualien’s Tarako National Park, famous for its steep cliffs and mountain trails. Other travelers were advised to stay put.

In Taiwan, the capital Taipei was largely closed due to strong winds and heavy rain. A tugboat was dispatched off the northern coast to tow away a Chinese-registered freighter that sank and was abandoned by its crew in rough seas.

Earlier on Thursday, the eye of the typhoon was winding about 110 kilometers (68 miles) east of the northernmost Philippine province of Batanes, a cluster of islands and islets with a population of about 19,000. On Wednesday, villagers in the northern provinces of the Philippines evacuated to shelters.

The Philippine weather agency warned that the storm could blow off roofs and shatter windows and cause widespread damage to farmland, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

“It’s so powerful that we haven’t seen the extent of the damage yet because the winds outside are still so strong,” Batanes Gov. Marilou Cayco told The Associated Press by cell phone before the line was cut.

Kong-rey, the 12th weather disturbance to hit the Philippine archipelago this year, hit the Southeast Asian nation still recovering from last week’s storm that left 179 people dead and missing. Hundreds of thousands of people are still in shelters Tropical Storm Trami.

China, which recognizes Taiwan as its own territory and regularly sends planes and warships has largely suspended its patrols around the island, and according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense, just eight planes were detected around the island from Wednesday to Thursday.

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AP writer Jim Gomez contributed from Manila, Philippines.