Taiwan shuts eastern counties early as typhoon approaches

Taiwan directed schools and offices along its eastern coast to close early Thursday as Typhoon Nepartak threatened to unleash strong winds and heavy rain across the island through Friday. Airlines canceled or rerouted flights.<br/>The first typhoon to form in the northwest Pacific Ocean this year recorded sustained winds of 198km an hour, gusting to 245km an hour, the Central Weather Bureau said. As of 4:15 p.m., the storm was 300 kilometers off the coast of eastern Taiwan’s Hualien. Wind and rain are expected across the whole island through Friday, the agency said. Strong winds are likely to lash the island in the early morning, Wu Wan-hua of the Central Weather Bureau said in a broadcast shown on cable news channels. Cathay Pacific cancelled or rerouted 41 Taiwan flights scheduled on Thursday and Friday. Taiwan’s largest carrier China Airlines Ltd. cancelled flights into or out of southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung between 7 p.m. Thursday and before 2 p.m. Friday. High speed rail service will be suspended Friday until 5 p.m. In China, the meteorological administration forecast Nepartak to make landfall Saturday morning on the coast of Fujian province in the southeastern part of the country, which has experienced severe flooding after days of record rainfall. <br/>