TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Hualien County on the east coast became the first of several counties and cities in Taiwan to announce school and office closures for Sunday (Sept. 3) as Typhoon Haikui approached the country from the east.

Kaohsiung City, Tainan City, Taitung County, Pingtung County, and Chiayi County followed suit as the typhoon was expected to make landfall in the county late Sunday. The website of the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration was expected to announce eventual further closures later Saturday (Sept. 2).

The island county of Penghu said it was joining the closures of offices and schools only from Sunday noon. The cities of Taipei, New Taipei, Keelung and Taoyuan said they were leaving offices and schools open Sunday.

The eye of the storm was located 430 kilometers east of Eluanbi at Taiwan’s southern tip at 5 p.m. Saturday, and heading west, turning west-northwest at a speed of 16 km per hour. The Central Weather Bureau predicted that by the same time on Sunday (Sept. 3), the eye would be 110 km north-northeast of Eluanbi.

The typhoon featured maximum sustained winds near the center of 38 meters per second, and gusts of up to 48 mps. Forecasters said the impact of the storm would be most severe on Sunday and Monday (Sept. 4).