The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) yesterday issued a sea warning for Typhoon Matsa, saying that the weather in Taiwan would be affected by its approach today and tomorrow. Forecasters reminded residents in mountainous areas of possible heavy rains in the following days.
Matsa, the name of a fish in Laos, is the ninth typhoon this year in the region. Forecasters said yesterday that residents in central and southern parts of Taiwan -- which had suffered from serious floods caused by the passage of devastating Typhoon Haitang two weeks ago -- would experience similar rainy days.
According to Lin Hsiu-wen (
With a radius of 250km, Matsa was moving northwest at 15kph. At 5pm yesterday, the center of Matsa was 500km east of Oluanpi (
"However, if its center passes close to land, the occurrence of heavy rains in the central and southern parts of Taiwan, especially in mountainous areas, is possible in the following days," Lin said.
In addition, Lin said hot dry winds, known as Foehn winds, could occur in the Taitung area tonight and tomorrow.
Forecasters predict that the weather in the north and northeast today and tomorrow would be significantly affected by Matsa, which is still growing.
In order to further ensure the accuracy of the typhoon forecast, scientists of the National Science Council (NSC) on Tuesday flew to areas around 400km from Matsa's center to gather data such as air pressure, temperature, humidity and wind speed. According to Lin Po-hsiung (
Meanwhile, in other developments, officials of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday urged residents in areas affected by the spread of melioidosis to avoid wading through areas inundated by river water after heavy rains.
Melioidosis is caused by a ubiquitous soil bacterium, Pseudomonas pseudomallei, and contracted either by walking across contaminated soil or ingesting contaminated water.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
AFTERMATH: The Taipei City Government said it received 39 minor incident reports including gas leaks, water leaks and outages, and a damaged traffic signal A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said. In Hualien, the
RSS