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A heavy rain advisory remained in place for the northern coast
and mountainous areas, where two landslides occurred early
Friday.
Krathon had brought much of the island to a standstill for three
days but weakened to a tropical depression early Friday. Its
center moved back over the sea after making a “U-turn” across
the island’s southwestern tip overnight.
Schools and businesses reopened with the exception of the city
of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, and some parts of Hualien County
and New Taipei. Domestic flights, which had been grounded for
two days, resumed.
Krathon lashed Kaohsiung with winds up to 126 kph (78 mph) and
higher gusts. It felled trees and flooded roads. Heavy rains and
flooding also occurred along Taiwan’s southern and eastern
coasts. Mountainous Taitung County saw 171 centimeters (5.6
feet) of rain over six days.
Two people died earlier in the week and one person remained
missing, according to Taiwan’s fire department. The missing
person was swept off a bridge.
Authorities had expected Krathon to bring devastation comparable
to a major typhoon that swept Kaohsiung in 1977, causing 37
deaths.
But it lost steam shortly after making landfall in Kaohsiung and
reaching the mountains northeast of the city, according to the
Central Weather Administration.
Krathon was one of only two typhoons in recent history to “die”
over Taiwan, beside Typhoon Trami, in 2001, the weather agency
said.
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Associated Press journalist Taijing Wu in Taipei contributed to
this report.
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