TSMC preps facilities as Taiwan braces for powerful Super Typhoon Krathon

Plants in Tainan and Kaohsiung face heavy rainfall

Taiwan's TSMC disclosed to The Register on Tuesday that it was battening down the hatches at its facilities in preparation for the arrival of Super Typhoon Krathon.

The chipmaker described the "typhoon alert preparation" it was doing as "routine," saying it did not expect "significant impact to our operations," but is putting procedures into place at all of its Taiwan fabs and construction sites.

Meanwhile, the country's president, Lai Ching-te, warned that Krathon will "inevitably cause catastrophic damage" and nearly 8,000 people have reportedly been evacuated from vulnerable areas as a precaution.

At the time of writing, ten counties had scheduled work and/or school closures, including Kaohsiung, a major port city home to many factories and several new TSMC plants still under construction.

TSMC has been preparing for the area's fabs to deploy chips with the A14 process as well as to mass-produce 2nm tech next year, according to market research firm TrendForce.

Another area where work and school have been canceled is Tainan, home to TSMC's Fab 14 facility, which focuses on 7nm and 5nm processes, as well as Fab 18, which specializes in 5nm and 3nm production, and is also home to a large R&D center.

The typhoon is approaching the southwest coast of the island, an area less commonly affected by such weather. The most severe conditions are expected on Wednesday. Super Typhoons are among the strongest tropical cyclones and are comparable to a Category 4 or 5 hurricane.

Taiwan's Central Weather Administration warned some areas could experience up to 350 mm of rain in 24 hours or 200 mm in three hours. Those areas are categorized as likely experiencing "extremely heavy rainfall" and include the Hualien and Taitung counties and mountainous areas of Kaohsiung and Pingtung.

A heavy rain advisory (expected 80 mm of rainfall in 24 hours, or 40 mm in three hours) was issued for the coast of Keelung, the mountains of Taipei, New Taipei City, Yilan, Tainan, and parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung.

"Debris flows" and mudslides are also a risk in certain areas. Some airlines have already canceled flights. Coast guard members have evacuated their ships. ®