KONG-RE BECOMES SUPER-TYPHOON

Tropical storm Kong-rey has rapidly intensified into a super typhoon as it heads towards Taiwan and China, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) of Taiwan. The equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane, Kong-re is expected to pass Japan's Ryukyu islands later this week before skirting eastern Taiwan on Friday. However, the CWB says that that Kong-Rey's path is uncertain and it could maintain a more westerly track, which would see Taiwan take a direct hit from the super typhoon. The typhoon could also threaten China’s coastline from Wenzhou to Shanghai over the weekend. Earlier today, Kong-rey was located 1,460 kilometers east-southeast of Taiwan's southernmost tip of Eluanbi. According to the CWB, maximum sustained winds were 198 km/per hour and gusts of 244 km/per hour.