Thousands evacuated as Typhoon Haikui heads for Taiwan

People walk on a street as Typhoon Haikui approaches, in Taipei, Taiwan on Sunday, September 3, 2023. - Reuters

TAITUNG, Taiwan (AFP): Thousands of people were evacuated, hundreds of flights cancelled and businesses closed in Taiwan as authorities prepared Sunday for Typhoon Haikui, the first major storm expected to directly hit the island in four years.

Haikui -- which already brought heavy rains by Sunday morning -- is forecast to make landfall by 5:00 pm (0900 GMT) in Taitung, a mountainous county in lesser-populated eastern Taiwan.