Although the approaching winter typhoon Nanmadol is weakening into a milder storm, the Central Weather Bureau still issued a land warning yesterday afternoon and urged people to brace for sudden downpours and lashing winds in northern and eastern parts of the country.
"The typhoon itself may slacken, yet what we really worry about is the heavy rain it incurs. With the cool monsoons blowing form the northeast and the tropical storm pressing from the south, Taiwan will be drenched in torrential rains over the weekend," said Daniel Wu (
PHOTO: YANG YI-MIN, TAIPEI TIMES
Eastern Taiwan and Hengchun Peninsula bore the brunt of the storm, with rainfall expected to hit 350mm in Ilan and Hualien's mountains in 24 hours. Northern and southern parts will also see rainfall of 200mm as the typhoon nears. Wu cautioned that residents in mountainous areas should be wary of possible landslides and mudflows.
As of 5pm yesterday, Puluowan in Hualien had seen 461mm rainfall and Taiping Mountain in Ilan also received 240mm of rain.
Nanmadol, the 27th typhoon reported in the Pacific this year, would be the first-ever to batter the country in December in recorded history, should make landfall today.
The latest storm, which sliced through the northern Philippines Friday, is lurching toward Taiwan with sustained winds of up to 176kph and gusts of up to 224kph. By 6pm yesterday, the storm's center was about 360km southwest of Oluanpi, Taiwan's southernmost tip, and is plowing northeast at a speed ranging from 19kph to 30kph, the bureau said.
The bureau forecast that the typhoon's influence would peak today. After it passes the country yesterday, temperatures in some areas could drop to as low as 12?C, the bureau said.
Meanwhile, due to heavy rains and strong winds, all flights to and from Hengchun Airport in southern Taiwan were canceled yesterday. The Taitung Airport also had many flights delayed. Civil aviation authorities there have given no timetable on when flights will resume.
The Taitung County Government also closed schools and public offices on the outlying island of Lanyu yesterday.
To slow rising water levels, both the Shihmen Reservoir (
The Yuanshantsi Water Diversion Tunnel was also activated yesterday to channel water from the Keelung River.
The Council of Agriculture (COA) said that 2,400 tonnes vegetables have been in cold storage to meet the demand.
"Vegetables are plentiful in wintertime. People do not need to rush to the market to buy fresh vegetables nor will vegetable prices soar," said a COA technician Chao Yang-tung (
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)