Tropical Storm Bilis pounded the country yesterday, forcing schools and offices to close and disrupting air and rail traffic.
The Central Weather Bureau forecast that Bilis will have completed its sweep across the country and be approximately 60km northwest of Hsinchu County by 8am this morning.
Bureau spokesman Wu De-rong (吳德榮) yesterday said the structure of Bilis was "loose" and it was therefore unlikely to increase in intensity as it made landfall.
PHOTO: WANG CHUN-FONG, TAIPEI TIMES
Because of its weak structure, the amount of rain and the storm's wind speed did not evidently increase after making landfall, Wu said.
However, the bureau warned of heavy rainfall today and tomorrow due to the lingering results of the storm and said that rainfall in mountainous southern areas may exceed 1,000mm.
The bureau also urged the public to take precautionary measures against heavy rain, landslides and floods, and warned against engaging in activities in coastal areas.
Flights from Taiwan to the outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu were canceled yesterday and as of press time it was still unclear whether flights would resume today.
A total of 487 geological lines that are potential mudslide risks had been identified around the nation as Bilis swept across Taiwan, officials from the Central Disaster Response Center (CDRC) reported yesterday.
The center reported that as of 4pm, a total of 4,272 Chinese fishermen had been allowed to take temporary shelter at fishing ports around Taiwan.
Power outages had been reported in 25 places, all in Taitung County, while 27 mobile phone base stations islandwide had been damaged because of torrential rain.
An accident was reported in Ilan County in which a large truck spun out of control and hit a residential building, knocking down power lines. No injuries were reported.
In Taipei City yesterday, cars were allowed to park on yellow and red lines along the curb. However, because of the closing of flood gates in Taipei City and County, many cars were parked on overpasses, causing traffic jams.
Meanwhile, vegetable prices continued to climb, with the wholesale price of scallions (green onions) reaching roughly NT$215 (US$6.72) per kilogram from NT$150 on Wednesday.
The Council of Agriculture announced yesterday that the average retail price for vegetables was NT$35.15, a notable increase from NT$29.7 on Wednesday.
However, the council urged the public not to hoard vegetables at this time, because the effect of the typhoon would only be temporary.
Meanwhile the defense ministry announced that rehearsals for the annual Hankuang 22 military exercises scheduled for today in Ilan are to be postponed. The ministry said the decision was made for the safety of soldiers who will take part in the drill.
No casualties or injuries had been reported as of press time.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday said he would punish government officials who did not do their best to help avoid potential disasters caused by Tropical Storm Bilis.
Su began his working day yesterday morning at 8am by arriving at the disaster-response headquarters that had been established to deal with the tropical storm.
Su also confirmed Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) decision to cut his trip to Japan by one day in order to return to Taipei to oversee the city's response to the tropical storm.
Additional reporting by Jimmy Chuang
also see stories:
RT-Mart, Carrefour Taiwan compete on vegetable prices
FTV wins the battle of the rock festivals
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
FIRST TRIAL: Ko’s lawyers sought reduced bail and other concessions, as did other defendants, but the bail judge denied their requests, citing the severity of the sentences Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was yesterday sentenced to 17 years in prison and had his civil rights suspended for six years over corruption, embezzlement and other charges. Taipei prosecutors in December last year asked the Taipei District Court for a combined 28-year, six-month sentence for the four cases against Ko, who founded the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The cases were linked to the Core Pacific City (京華城購物中心) redevelopment project and the mismanagement of political donations. Other defendants convicted on separate charges included Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇), who was handed a 15-year, six-month sentence; Core Pacific
RSS