With central Taiwan still struggling to recover from the damage brought by Tropical Storm Mindulle last month, meteorologists yesterday called on residents living in the northern and northeastern regions to brace themselves for more rain and wind as Typhoon Rananim moves towards Taiwan.
As of press time yesterday, the typhoon was centered at 360km east northeast of Taipei, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB), and heading northwest at speeds of up to 17kph.
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
It is expected to be 180km north northeast of Taiwan by 5pm this evening.
CWB meteorologists expect that Taiwan be affected by Rananim today and tomorrow at the very least, citing that the storm, which is currently classified as moderate in strength and impact, was just shy of being categorized as a major typhoon.
With a radius of 250km, maximum sustained winds of 140kph, and gusts of up to 175kph, the typhoon is expected to continue to gain strength according to CWB forecasts last night.
Accompanying rainfall is predicted to be especially heavy beginning early today and lasting until 5pm tonight as Typhoon Rananim continues to head northwest towards China.
By yesterday evening, the typhoon had brought 122mm of rain to Taipei County, with Taitung and Hsinchu seeing the highest levels of rainfall at 143mm of rain and 174mm respectively.
As much as 600mm of rain was expected for the northern mountainous regions yesterday night.
At 11:30am yesterday, the CWB issued land warnings for Keelung, Ilan, Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli. The CWB also warned that vessels operating in waters off of Taiwan's north, northeast, and southeast coasts, and in the northern part of the Taiwan Strait should be on high alert against to heavy winds and rainfall.
Residents should beware of possible landslides, falling rocks, flash floods and rising water levels, as torrential rain is expected in the north, northeast and south central mountain regions, CWB meteorologists said.
Water Resources Agency director Chen Shen-hsien (陳伸賢) also said yesterday that residents should stay away from the Taipei County Hsichih portion of the Peigang River and Keelung City's Yurei Creek as breakers protecting against flooding were insufficient in the areas.
However, he played down the damage that rainfall could bring.
"Although Typhoon Rananim will bring torrential rain to Taiwan, if the rainfall is not concentrated in a short amount of time, the impact in northern Taiwan should not be overly damaging," Chen said.
The Hualien District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday launched an investigation following allegations by a former foreign correspondent in Taiwan of widespread vote-buying in Hualien County. In an interview with Formosa TV (FTV, 民視) aired on Saturday, former Financial Times Taiwan correspondent Kathrin Hille spoke about Taiwan’s democracy and said that she now lives in rural Hualien, where “all the votes are bought.” Neighbors would talk about who had come by and leave cash on the table showing “how much each vote was worth that year,” Hille said. The practice needs to be addressed, considering Taiwan has been a democracy for many
INCREASING IMBALANCE: The percentage of working-age people is expected to shrink to 42.3% of the population, while older people would comprise 52.9%, the agency said Taiwan’s population is projected to shrink by almost half over the next five decades, intensifying labor shortages and placing a growing drag on economic growth as the technology-intensive economy confronts a rapidly aging workforce. The population is expected to fall to 12.15 million by 2075, a 48 percent decline from this year, National Development Council projections released yesterday showed. The decline would fundamentally alter Taiwan’s workforce. From 2037, more than half of the working-age population is projected to be aged between 45 and 64, signaling the end of an era when the economy could rely on a relatively large labor force. The shift
SAFETY RISKS: A Taiwanese man who was traveling to Shanghai for business was allegedly questioned for six hours due to his past work for Amnesty International The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) urged Taiwanese to exercise caution when considering trips to China after a Taiwanese man was allegedly questioned for six hours in Shanghai over past work with Amnesty International. The council on Saturday said in a report that 426 Taiwanese have gone missing or been detained or had their freedom of movement restricted in China since Jan. 1, 2024. The figure is up by seven from the previous week. New Chinese entry and exit regulations are due to take effect on Sept. 15, the council said. Of the 426 cases, 160 people have gone missing, up
DEFENSE PROCUREMENT: The Pentagon has told a US congressional hearing that Taiwan has ‘top priority worldwide’ in the delivery of Harpoon missile systems The US Navy and Boeing Co have conducted a series of tests for land-based Harpoon anti-ship missile system being supplied to Taiwan and released footage showing the system striking a target vessel at sea. The weapons system and support equipment tested were reportedly tailored for Taiwan, while the first launch vehicles and other components have already begun arriving in Taiwan, with the full delivery of 100 systems scheduled to be completed by the end of 2028. Pentagon officials have previously told a US congressional hearing that Taiwan has “top priority worldwide” in the delivery of Harpoon missile systems, with production
RSS