Thousands evacuated as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan

Taiwan closed schools and evacuated thousands of people in the south of the island on Tuesday ahead of the arrival of Super Typhoon Krathon, with the president warning it was likely to cause "catastrophic damage".

Krathon -- packing sustained winds of 198 kilometres per hour (123 miles per hour), equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane, and gusts of up to 245 kph -- was expected to make landfall Wednesday near the major port city of Kaohsiung.

Offices and schools were closed across southern and eastern Taiwan and the interior ministry said more than 7,800 people had been evacuated from vulnerable areas as a precaution.

President Lai Ching-te warned Krathon would "inevitably cause catastrophic damage".

"The path of Krathon is relatively rare, entering from the south and exiting from the east. Therefore we must be particularly vigilant," he said at a government briefing.

Dozens of international and domestic flights have been cancelled.

Nearly 40,000 troops were on standby for relief missions, the defence ministry said.

In southern Renwu district, part of Kaohsiung, soldiers were seen filling sandbags for distribution to the public, with a few dozen residents waiting at the district office to receive theirs.

Wu Mao-shu, a supervisor at the office, said "people are eager to collect sandbags to protect their homes. Up until yesterday we gave away around 7,400 and another 1,100 today so far."

Wu said authorities had also cleared the storm drains in the area to avoid a repeat of the widespread flooding seen during typhoon Gaemi in July.

Gaemi was the strongest typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in eight years, leaving at least 10 people dead and hundreds wounded.

Taiwan is accustomed to frequent tropical storms from July to October but experts say climate change has increased their intensity, leading to heavy rains, flash floods and strong gusts.

In Kaohsiung, residents taped up windows, filled sandbags and erected barriers around their homes to keep out floodwaters