Taiwan says no to super typhoon Kong-ray.

ILAN, Taiwan: Taiwan suspended work and activities on some remote islands on Wednesday (Oct 30) and fishermen secured their boats as authorities warned that approaching super typhoon Kong Rei could trigger landslides.

Strong winds and torrential rains are expected to hit the island of 23 million people. Kong-ray faces southeast on Thursday afternoon.

Kong Ray had maximum sustained winds of 240 km/h as it approached Taiwan, the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center said in its latest update.

Fishermen in raincoats moor their boats in a harbor in Yilan County, southeast of Taipei, during the rain.

“Of course I’m worried. All my assets are here,” a fisherman who gave his name as Captain Chen told AFP.

Kong-rey is expected to dump the heaviest rain over Taiwan’s eastern and northern coastal areas and mountains in central and southern regions, the state forecaster of the Central Weather Administration said.

Yilan and eastern Hualien County are expected to be the worst hit, where accumulated rainfall from Tuesday to Friday reached 800 to 1,200 ml, forecaster Chan Chun-yao told AFP.

“Based on the forecast track of the typhoon, we recommend that Yilan, Hualien and Taitung take precautions against potential landslides and debris flows in areas where heavy rainfall is expected,” Chang said.