Car salesmen talk in a showroom in Taipei yesterday with windows taped up in preparation for the approaching typhoon Morakot. Taiwan's weather bureau urged residents to take precautions as the first major typhoon of the season gained strength and churned towards the island. AFP

TAIPEI: Taiwan is bracing for typhoon Morakot, a fierce storm, expected to strike the island today, packing winds up to 213 kilometers per hour.

Morakot appears to be powering up as it gets ready to blast across Taiwan.

A Level One Alert, the highest on Taiwan's three-tier scale, was issued yesterday soon after Central Weather Bureau (CWB) issued a land warning for northern Taiwan. The alert places workers at 25 agencies on standby to monitor the progress of the storm and disaster prevention efforts.

Taiwan residents have been warned to take precautions against the storm, especially to stay away from the coast and to avoid unnecessary travel into mountain regions.

The US Joint Typhoon Warning Centre reported Morakot appeared to be gaining strength. The typhoon is expected to come ashore as a Category 4 storm, the second highest rating on the Saffir Simpson Scale. Morakot's eye is expected to be over Taipei by 8 pm.

Morakot's outer rain bands began swirling over northern Taiwan late Wednesday.

Taiwan's summer has been unseasonably dry this year, with several locales considering implementing water rationing.

Water shortages have eased somewhat in the wet weather of the past few days.

Authorities now fear that rainfall from the approaching storm could trigger flash floods and mudslides, especially in mountainous areas.

The CWB says that if Morokot maintains its course, it will blanket the entire island with rain by Saturday.

"Morakot" means emerald in Thai, according to the Web site of the Hong Kong Observatory.

Bloomberg News

(HK Edition 08/07/2009 page2)