Texans battled rain and flooding from the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin as Gulf Coast residents cast a wary eye toward powerful Hurricane Dean, which strengthened as it made its way through the Caribbean.
At least six people died this week because of Erin's thunderstorms. One person remained missing.
Dean, which forecasters said could threaten parts of the US by Wednesday, blew through the Caribbean on Friday with 160kph winds, tearing away roofs and flooding streets as it became a powerful Category 4 storm.
Dean's winds strengthened to 241kph early yesterday and it was expected to steer next week into the Gulf of Mexico, with its 4,000 oil and gas platforms.
Dean was centered about 1,060km southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, and about 390km south of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
It was moving west at 27kph.
Although forecasters said it was too early to tell whether the storm would eventually strike the US coast somewhere, state officials were preparing for the worst.
Texas Governor Rick Perry declared the storm an "imminent threat" and initiated full-scale preparations.
Fuel trucks were dispatched to coastal communities, storm-response task forces were put on alert and supply trucks and other resources were pre-positioned along evacuation routes.
"It's so far out, but it's not too early to start preparing," Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger said.
"We have more notice than with Erin. We're glad for that especially since [Dean] is projected to bring some strength," she said.
Harris County, Texas, Judge Ed Emmett, the executive of the county that includes Houston, called Erin's rain and flooding "a wet run" for the impending Dean.
Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco declared a state of emergency on Friday and requested a federal declaration that would allow federal resources to flow to the state should Dean strike any part of the Louisiana coast.
Forecast projections showed a slim chance of the storm jumping northward toward Louisiana, but it was enough to put Louisiana emergency preparedness officials on high alert, given the weakened condition of the state's coastline since it was pummeled by hurricanes Katrina and Rita a little less than two years ago.
Summer storms have poured record rainfall across Texas and parts of Oklahoma and Kansas, with floods killing 22 people since the middle of June.
Hurricane specialists expect this year's Atlantic hurricane season -- June 1 to Nov. 30 -- to be busier than average, with as many as 16 tropical storms, nine of them strengthening into hurricanes.
Ten tropical storms developed in the Atlantic last year, but only two made landfall in the US.
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office. Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News, ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I will tell you, you know, you have a very similar thing with President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don’t believe there’s any way it’s going to happen as long as I’m here. We’ll see,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ Special Report. “He told me: ‘I will never do
RSS