Taiwan shuts down ahead of Typhoon Krathon's arrival, torrential rain forecast

Taiwan shut down on Wednesday with hundreds of flights grounded and offices, schools and financial markets closed ahead of the arrival of a weakening Typhoon Krathon, which is forecast to bring storm surges along the coast and torrential rain. The government in the key port city of Kaohsiung, right on the path of the eye of the storm, told people to stay at home and away from the sea, rivers and mountains, warning of a repeat of 1977's Typhoon Thelma which killed 37 people and devastated the city of 2.7m. Taiwan regularly gets hit by typhoons but they generally land along the mountainous and sparsely populated east coast facing the Pacific, but Krathon will make landfall on the island's flat western plain.<br/>It is forecast to hit between Kaohsiung and its neighbouring city of Tainan in the early hours of Thursday, then work its way up the west coast towards the capital Taipei, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.<br/>Chou Yi-tang, a government official working in the Siaogang district where the airport is located, said the typhoon has brought back bad memories of Thelma for the older generation, prompting residents to take extra precautions.<br/>