Southern Taiwan's Tainan City is preparing for strong wind and rains from Super Typhoon Krathon, deploying pumps, sandbags and barriers to keep potential flooding at bay as the storm bears down on the country's southwestern coast.
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00:00We begin with the latest on Typhoon Graton, which is bearing down on the country, set
00:06to bring heavy winds and rain.
00:08A so-called Typhoon Day has been declared, meaning all schools, offices and businesses
00:13have closed their doors.
00:16Graton has slowly been making its way around Taiwan's southwestern coast and is expected
00:22to swing northeast across the island.
00:24It's now likely to make landfall on Wednesday night at the earliest, later than earlier
00:30predictions, before hovering over the country for a few days.
00:34Extreme rain warnings are in place in 15 counties and cities, especially along the south and
00:40east coasts.
00:4122 roads or bridges are closed and over 100 landslide warnings are in place in Hualien
00:47County on Taiwan's mountainous east.
00:51Around the country, dozens of people have been reported injured and one person is missing.
00:56Flights have also been cancelled to outlying islands, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.
01:02Meanwhile, the crew from a Barbados-registered ship that flooded in the outer current of
01:07Typhoon Graton has been rescued, but an investigation is ongoing into oil that may have spilled
01:14from the ship.
01:15While the typhoon is expected to weaken as it crosses Taiwan, officials are still warning
01:20of the potential for deadly floods and landslides.
01:24Rick Glowatt is live for us in the southern city of Tainan, where the storm is expected
01:29to make landfall.
01:31Rick, how are things looking down there in Tainan?
01:36Well, this is the harbour front of Anping, the ancient port district of Tainan.
01:42Wind, rain picking up here, but it's the water level of the harbours and rivers that are
01:48concerning the 70,000 residents of this district, many people living just metres away from the
01:53water.
01:54We spent the morning with this district's chief.
01:57He talked us through some of the preparations they're making as Typhoon Graton barrels towards
02:02this region.
02:03They've deployed 12 pumps to take water out of drains to prevent roads from flooding.
02:09They put barriers and sandbags over the front of underground car parks and houses to prevent
02:13them from flooding.
02:15And in this district alone, for 70,000 people, they've set up 16 evacuation centres in places
02:20like schools and community centres should people need to flee their homes.
02:37This typhoon coming just a couple of months after the deadly typhoon came, many people
02:42were saying that lessons were learned there, and the city officials we've been spending
02:45time with saying that they're confident in their preparations to keep this city safe.
02:50But this is a rare typhoon, both in its intensity and in its direction.
02:55It's hitting Taiwan not from the mountainous east, but from the west, hitting large urban
03:00centres like the city of Tainan.
03:03There's also concerns that as the typhoon approaches the coast, that low pressure could
03:08cause a storm surge, increasing the risk of flooding.
03:11So, many preparations here in Tainan, but some of them still untested.