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Fung-wong hits the nation, killing two

A woman in Kaohsiung City hides behind a car yesterday morning in an attempt to avoid the strong wind after it blew her from her motorcycle as Typhoon Fung-wong swept across the nation. PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES

Typhoon Fung-wong swept across the nation yesterday, weakening dramatically as it crossed the Central Mountain Range before entering the Taiwan Strait at 2:30pm, but still managing to bring torrential rain to most parts of the nation.

As of 10:30pm, the center of the typhoon was located about 110km south of Matsu. It was moving northwest at a speed of 15kph.

The maximum wind speed detected near the center of the typhoon topped 119kph and the radius of the storm reached 220km.

The Central Weather Bureau predicted that while Taiwan proper will be completely out of the storm’s radius by this morning, Matsu and Kinmen would remain affected by the storm through this afternoon.

The bureau, however, warned residents in central and southern regions about heavy or torrential rain brought by the southwest air stream that would occur following the typhoon’s departure.

Deputy director at the bureau’s Weather Forecast Center Lin Hsiu-wen (林秀雯) said yesterday the force of the typhoon gradually weakened after it made landfall yesterday morning, adding that it would continue to move northwest toward China’s Fujian Province in the next few days.

As of press time, Taipingshan (太平山), Ilan County, topped the accumulated rainfall statistics with 821mm. It was followed by Bruwan (布洛灣), Hualien County, and Shichiusishan (西丘斯山), Hsinchu County, with 758mm and 523mm.

Southern and central regions had begun to see a drastic increase in rainfall, Lin said. In some cities, the level had reached 50mm per hour.

Taipao City (太保), Chiayi County, topped the scale, receiving 87mm of rain in one hour yesterday afternoon, between 3pm and 4pm, while Wuling Township (武陵), Taichung County, had received 441mm, Shangdewen Township (上德文), Pingtung County, saw 336mm and Nantienchi (南天池), Kaohsiung County, had received 318.5mm.

Several hundred coastal residences in Changhua County were hit by a blackout for several hours, Central News Agency (CNA) reported.

The typhoon made landfall between Chinpu (靜浦), Hualien County, and Changbin (長濱), Taitung County, at 6:50am.

The east coast faced the most immediate threat from the typhoon yesterday morning, with damage reported in both Hualien and Taitung counties.

The Central Emergency Operation Center reported that strong winds killed a man in Taitung after he fell while repairing the roof of his warehouse. The man, identified as 68-year-old Lo Tien-guey (羅添貴), was found face down in a paddy field next to the warehouse.

Also, a 58-year-old woman in Tainan County named Chu Hsiu-ying (朱秀英) was killed when she fell from her motorcycle into a gutter.

Meanwhile, the center also reported that 31 rivers in Guangfu (光復) and Hsiulin (秀林), Hualien County, were listed as on red alert for mudslides.

Residents living close to the rivers were forced to evacuate when the rising water was poised to inundate their houses. CNA reported that 462 people in Hualien were either placed in shelters or staying with relatives because of the typhoon.

At press time, six injuries were also reported in Taipei City, Ilan County and Kaohsiung City.

The typhoon also disrupted transportation systems nationwide. Both the Taiwan Railway Administration and Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp announced on Sunday that a majority of trains scheduled to run yesterday would be canceled. Both companies had managed to resume partial operations by last night.

Damage was reported on several highways, including provincial highways No. 7, No. 8, No. 9, No. 14, No. 21 and No. 24.

Domestic airlines also canceled their flights.

Lin said the bureau, which was harshly criticized for its inaccurate forecasting when Tropical Storm Kalmaegi hit earlier this month, was able to forecast the movements of Fung-wong more precisely because the typhoon had a more solid structure.

Lee Cheng-shang (李清勝), professor of atmospheric sciences at National Taiwan University, said a phenomenon of vertical decoupling occurred after Fung-wong made landfall yesterday and crossed the Central Mountain Range.

“While the typhoon’s upper-level air stream managed to cross the mountain range, the air stream at the lower level has gone to the west through the north coast,” he said.

The phenomenon will cause sporadic rain nationwide as the typhoon takes time to redevelop a new center, meaning it will stay on land longer before moving out over the sea.

Fung-wong’s short stay caused NT$177 million (US$5.8 million) in agricultural losses, with the majority — about NT$167million — occurring in Hualien County, CNA reported.

The county reached the threshold necessary to apply for government subsidies for the losses, the Council of Agriculture said yesterday, adding that it urged all farmers who had suffered financial losses to apply as soon as possible.

Most cities and counties, including Taipei, Tainan and Hsinchu, were expected to resume work and re-open schools today, CNA reported.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday slammed Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) and Taitung County Commissioner Kuang Li-chen (鄺麗貞) for not returning to Taiwan ahead of the typhoon.

DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said Hu and Kuang should have canceled their overseas trips and returned to deal with the potential damage caused by the storm.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RICH CHANG
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