Some 2,000 tourists are stranded on Green Island, due to strong winds and high surf brought on by Typhoon Kalmaegi. As of Monday afternoon, the moderate-strength typhoon was located about 400 km south-southwest of the southernmost tip of Taiwan. It was traveling at 28 km per hour in a west-northwesterly direction.
Companies running passenger ferries between Green Island and the southeastern county of Taitung say they canceled seven crossings due to bad weather.
Meteorologists say Typhoon Kalmaegi has already passed through the island of Luzon in the Philippines. They say it’s likely to make landfall in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong or Hainan Island in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, in addition to strong winds and massive waves, Kalmaegi has also sent the mercury soaring in western and southern Taiwan. Just before noon on Monday, Kaohsiung in the south hit a record high temperature of 37.6 C. That’s the highest temperature since the weather bureau began keeping records back in 1932.