The Central Weather Bureau issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kujira yesterday morning and a land warning for southern and central Taiwan at 8:30pm last night as the bureau was closely monitoring the typhoon that could hit Taiwan this week.
Kujira, expected to be the first typhoon to hit the island in April in 25 years, raised concerns among the public yesterday that torrential rains to be triggered by the typhoon could cause problems over the next few days.
"Residents in northern and eastern Taiwan should be alert to the possibility of torrential rains brought by the approaching typhoon," said Lin Ding-yi (
Lin said the exact time that Typhoon Kujira will reach the island was hard to predict because the typhoon continued to decrease its speed from a 13km per hour as of 8am to 10km yesterday afternoon.
"Further decrease is possible," the meteorologist said.
The CWB delayed issuing a land warning for Kujira yesterday afternoon due to the the typhoon's slow progress.
As of 7pm yesterday, Kujira, expected to be the third "April typhoon" to hit Taiwan since 1958, was located 480km southeast of Taiwan, moving in a northwesterly direction toward the island at a speed of 10km per hour with a radius of 250km and maximum sustained winds of 155kph with gusts of up to 180kph.
Meteorologists have predicted that Kujira will bring abundant rainfall to the mountain regions of the north and the whole eastern part of Taiwan.
Torrential rains in these areas will increase as the typhoon approaches the island, Lin said. Residents of these areas should be cautious for possible mudflows and landslides following the rains, he said.
The bureau also suggested that the crews of boats plying the waters off these areas should be aware of the possibility of strong winds brought by Kujira.
The National Fire Administration under the Ministry of the Interior set up a contingency disaster prevention and relief center to prepare for dealing with typhoon-related problems yesterday morning.
The Taiwan Power Company, the nation's main power supplier, gave a reminder to metropolitan residents yesterday afternoon for preparatory protection of their power distribution unit usually placed in the basement of buildings in case the typhoon causes a flood in metropolitan areas and damages the distribution unit.
The meteorologists said the most ideal scenario would be that the typhoon decreased in intensity while bringing enough rainfall to raise the levels of the nation's reservoirs.
Kujira, which formed near Guam two weeks ago, had been listed as a strong typhoon before its strength decreased on its way toward the Philippines.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS