Typhoon Krathon makes landfall in Taiwan, packing fierce winds and torrential rain

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan (AP) — Typhoon Krathon made landfall Thursday in Taiwan's major port city of Kaohsiung, bringing torrential rains and fierce winds to the island's south. Trees were brought down by high winds and roads were flooded, prompting the closure of schools and businesses.

Krathon made landfall in the industrial Siaogang district of Kaohsiung around 12:40 p.m., the Central Weather Administration said. It packed maximum sustained winds of 126 kph (78 mph) with gusts of 162 kph (101 mph).

The typhoon was forecast to move slowly north and weaken into a tropical depression by Friday before it reaches the capital, Taipei. It was expected to then head across the Taiwan Strait toward the Chinese coast. Winds were strong in Taipei on Thursday, but there was little rain.

Kaohsiung earlier urged its residents to take cover from potentially disastrous winds and rain, which tore down storefronts and flooded car parks but caused no reported loss of life.

The slow-moving typhoon, which approached Taiwan at a speed of about 4 kph (2.5 mph), doused eastern and southern parts of the island over the past five days, forcing thousands to evacuate from mountainous or low-lying areas. Two days of closures are believed to have taken a significant toll on the island's high-tech economy that relies heavily on foreign trade.

Gusts and heavy rains pelted empty streets in Kaohsiung, while life in Taipei, 350 kilometers (215 miles) to the north, was only slightly disrupted.

Many residents woke up Thursday to mobile phone alerts urging them to take shelter from the potentially dangerous winds. The weather administration posted a Facebook message warning Kaohsiung and Pingtung county residents not to go outside when the eye of the storm passes above their area and the weather calms briefly, because the winds would pick up again afterward.

Weather-related events attributed to Krathon injured at least 123 people around the island, according to Taiwan’s fire department. Two people died — one after driving into fallen rocks on the road in the southeastern Taitung county, and the other while trimming tree branches in the city of Hualien. Two others remained missing.

A fire at a hospital in Pingtung County killed at least nine people early Thursday. The deaths were attributed to smoke and the cause was under investigation. It was not immediately clear whether the blaze was related to the typhoon.

Thousands were evacuated from areas vulnerable to mudslides and landslides. Almost 40,000 troops were on standby to help with rescue efforts.

Mountainous areas in the island’s south have received up to 169 centimeters (5.5 feet) of rain over the past five days.

China's weather agency said some eastern and southern parts of Taiwan are set to receive extremely heavy rains of up to 40 centimeters (1.3 feet) over the next 24 hours.

Typhoons rarely hit Taiwan’s west coast, affecting instead the mountainous eastern side of the island.

Kaohsiung officials, in urging residents to be vigilant about the weather, recalled the destruction brought by Typhoon Thelma, which in 1977 badly damaged the city and caused 37 deaths.

Earlier in the week, Typhoon Krathon lashed northern Philippine islands, killing four people and displacing at least 5,000, officials said.

A man pedals through a flooded road as Typhoon Krathon makes landfall in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

Trees are blown down the path of Love River Park as Typhoon Krathon makes landfall in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

A man pushes a motorbike through a flooded road as Typhoon Krathon makes landfall in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

A fallen signage lies on the pavement as as Typhoon Krathon makes landfall in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

A view of Love River as Typhoon Krathon arrives in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

A hotel staff prepares to move a human figure from the doorway to inside as Typhoon Krathon arrives in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

A man rides in the wind and rain generated by Typhoon Krathon in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

Traffic cones litter the pavement as Typhoon Krathon arrives in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

A street view from a hotel that taped the glass of its front door as Typhoon Krathon arrives in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

A woman struggles in the wind and rain generated by Typhoon Krathon in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

Wind and rain blow through Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, as Typhoon Krathon arrives Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

A man struggles in the heavy wind and rain generated by Typhoon Krathon in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

A woman struggles with winds generated by Typhoon Krathon in Kaohsiung, Southern Taiwan, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

A woman struggles with winds generated by Typhoon Krathon in Kaohsiung, Southern Taiwan, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

A woman struggles with winds generated by Typhoon Krathon in Kaohsiung, Southern Taiwan, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A judge has ruled an 18-year-old man charged with murder in the killing of a paddleboarder in Maine is competent to stand trial.

The death of Sunshine “Sunny” Stewart, 48, of St. George, last year shocked the community around Crawford Pond in rural Union, Maine. Authorities charged Deven Young of Frankfort, Maine, with murder in Stewart's death in July, about two weeks after Stewart's body was discovered.

The court system has thus far treated Young as a juvenile. Prosecutors in the state want to charge Young, who was 17 at the time of Stewart's death and is 18 now, as an adult. First, he needed to be deemed competent to stand trial, and a judge ruled this week that he is.

"The court finds that the defendant is competent to proceed based on the court’s finding that the juvenile has a rational, as well as a factual, understanding of the proceedings and a sufficient present ability to consult with legal counsel with a reasonable degree of rational understanding," wrote Maine District Court Judge Eric J. Walker on Wednesday.

Young is due back in court on May 7. Police have said a medical examiner determined Stewart's cause of death was strangulation and blunt force trauma.

Jeremy Pratt, an attorney for Young, declined to comment on Thursday. Prosecutors in the case also declined to comment Thursday.

Authorities have not publicly stated a possible motive in the case. Court documents about the case, which were briefly made public before being removed from the state's courts website, contained little detail other than stating that Young “did intentionally or knowingly cause the death of another human being, namely Sunshine Stewart.”

Audio recordings by the Waldo County Sheriff's Office that were obtained by news agencies earlier this year provided details about Young's history of violent behavior and mental health challenges prior to Stewart's death. The Portland Press Herald reported that Young had been waiting for behavioral health services from the state.

Stewart went missing at Crawford Pond, where she was paddleboarding, on July 2 and her body was found the next day. The pond is a popular summertime attraction for swimming, boating and fishing. Stewart lived about 21 miles (34 kilometers) from the pond in the Tenants Harbor neighborhood in St. George.

Stewart's friends and family celebrated her life with a maritime service last August. The memorial included a procession of boats, some decked out with flowers, in Tenants Harbor.

On the boats were pictures of Stewart smiling and a large sign that read, “Shine On.” Over the years, Stewart worked as a fisherman, boat captain, biologist, carpenter and bartender, friends have said.

FILE - Acquaintances of Sunshine Stewart sit on the bow of a lobster boat during a memorial service for the slain paddleboarder, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025, off the coast of St. George, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)