HUALIEN, Taiwan (Reuters) – Taiwan curtailed its annual Han Kuang war games on Tuesday as Typhoon Gaemi barrelled towards the island, and is expected to bring strong winds and torrential rain.
Gaemi, the first typhoon of the season to affect Taiwan, is expected to make landfall on the northeast coast between sometime on Wednesday night and the early hours of Thursday, according to the island’s Central Weather Administration.
Currently categorised as a medium strength typhoon by Taiwan, it is then likely to move across the Taiwan Strait and then hit the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian in the early hours of Friday.
Taiwan’s annual Han Kuang military drills taking place this week have been curtailed, including cancelling fighter jet exercises on the east coast, the defence ministry said.
“The impact from the typhoon at present on the east coast is rather obvious,” ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang told reporters at the Hualien air base. “So we will adjust some of the air and naval elements given the typhoon situation.”
Gaemi passed by to the east of the Philippines but did not make landfall, though still brought heavy rain.
While typhoons can be highly destructive, Taiwan also relies on them to replenish reservoirs after the traditionally drier winter months, especially for the southern part of the island.
(Reporting by Walid Berrazeg; Additional reporting by Neil Jerome Morales in Manila; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry)
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