Powerful Typhoon Talim has been battering Taiwan since yesterday afternoon, leaving schools and offices closed in several counties. The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) yesterday predicted that abundant rainfall would trigger potentially devastating disasters, such as floods and mudflows, in not only the northern parts of the nation but also the south.
All cities and counties announced last night that there will be no classes nor work today in their respective areas, except Kinmen County, which said schools and offices remain open today.
Beginning yesterday afternoon, huge waves, heavy rains and powerful winds were observed in eastern Taiwan. In Hsinchu County, several roads connecting townships in mountainous areas, including remote Wufeng (五峰) Township, were destroyed due to sudden landslides triggered by heavy rains.
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUI, TAIPEI TIMES
In several areas, schools and offices were ordered to close earlier yesterday.
The CWB expected that Talim's center would pass over Taiwan from the eastern coastline between Ilan and Hualien counties. Forecasters said that Talim, with a radius of 250km, has been formed by solid-structure clouds.
According to Hsieh Ming-chang (謝明昌), a division chief at the CWB's meteorology division, the weather in Taiwan will be significantly affected by the storm system.
"We predict that violent gusts [of wind] could be experienced in the counties of Ilan and Hualien," Hsieh said.
Forecasters said that people in Taiwan and its offshore islands, including Penghu, Green Island, Lanyu and Matsu, had to be on the alert for powerful winds.
Moving
Forecasters said Talim was steadily moving west-northwestward at a speed of 21kph and at 11am today its center is expected to be situated 250km west-northwest of Hsinchu. The bureau predicts that the weather this afternoon might become a bit milder but nationwide heavy rains in the following days remain a threat.
It is expected that rainfall in the mountainous areas in southern counties such as Kaohsiung and Pingtung, will exceed 1,000mm. In the north, accumulative rainfall exceeding 700mm is expected.
Yesterday, the Council of Agriculture (COA) issued mudflow and landslide warnings, listing 610 rivers in danger of flooding. The warning affect residents in 39 townships in eight counties. Officials said that rivers in Ilan, Hualien and Nantou counties could become highly dangerous, urging residents to stay away from them. In addition, COA officials said, a Web site showing the danger of floods and mudflows, www.fema.swcb.gov.tw, offers emergency information about possible evacuations.
Meanwhile, Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday cautioned Cabinet members that "previous mistakes are not allowed to be repeated during this typhoon."
"I ask my fellow Cabinet members to remain at their posts and make sure everything is under control," he said.
`Stay alert'
"Everybody should stay alert to avoid repeating the same mistakes," he said, referring to the water shortage in Taoyuan County after Typhoon Matsa devastated Taiwan on Aug. 5.
According to the Cabinet, the water shortage occurred because the Shihmen Reservoir's water was seriously polluted by huge amounts of mud, caused by land erosion in the reservoir's catchment area. As a result, the water becomes muddy after downpours and since the water became too muddy after the devastating typhoon, water treatment plants were unable to provide a constant water supply.
Hsieh yesterday visited both the CWB and the Cabinet's Drought Disaster Relief Center to make sure everything is under control. According to Cabinet Spokesman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), the premier is scheduled to meet President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) today to give him the latest information on the typhoon and the situation nationwide.
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
BEIJING’S ‘PAWN’: ‘We, as Chinese, should never forget our roots, history, culture,’ Want Want Holdings general manager Tsai Wang-ting said at a summit in China The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時媒體集團) for making comments at the Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit that it said have damaged Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that it would investigate if the group had colluded with China in the matter and contravened cross-strait regulations. The council issued a statement after Want Want Holdings (旺旺集團有限公司) general manager Tsai Wang-ting (蔡旺庭), the third son of the group’s founder, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), said at the summit last week that the group originated in “Chinese Taiwan,” and has developed and prospered in “the motherland.” “We, as Chinese, should never
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying
INDO-PACIFIC REGION: Royal Navy ships exercise the right of freedom of navigation, including in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, the UK’s Tony Radakin told a summit Freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region is as important as it is in the English Channel, British Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said at a summit in Singapore on Saturday. The remark came as the British Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, is on an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region as head of an international carrier strike group. “Upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and with it, the principles of the freedom of navigation, in this part of the world matters to us just as it matters in the