Super Typhoon Kong-rey Threatens Taiwan with Potential Island-Wide Impact and Shutdowns

Typhoon Kong-rey reached super-typhoon strength on Wednesday and was forecast to make landfall in Taiwan on Thursday. Hundreds of flights were cancelled and thousands of residents were evacuated. The storm was expected to hit Taiwan's eastern coast around 2:00 pm (local time) on Thursday, potentially as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of up to 250 kph. Taiwan's Ministry of Defense had put 36,000 troops on standby to help with rescue efforts and 1,300 people had been evacuated from high-risk areas.