Super Typhoon Jangmi (“rose” in Korean) began to make its presence felt in Taiwan yesterday, packing winds of 191kph out at sea and bringing massive rains to the southern and eastern parts of the country, as well as flooding some parts of Taipei City. Heavy rain is expected across the country over the next two days.
As of 8:15pm yesterday, the typhoon was 330km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost point of the country, and traveling northwest turning northwest-west at 17kph, said Daniel Wu (吳德榮), director of the forecast center at the Central Weather Bureau.
At press time, no typhoon-related casualties had been reported.
PHOTO: CNA
The bureau issued a sea warning at 11:30pm on Friday, followed by a land warming at 8:30am yesterday. It also issued alerts for landslides, falling rocks and floods.
“People in the southern and eastern parts of the country — including Hualien, Taitung, Green Island (綠島), Orchid Island (蘭嶼) and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) — should watch out, especially for torrential rains,” Wu said.
Because of the effects of northeast seasonal winds and winds from the outer rim of Jangmi, northern and northeast Taiwan are expected to experience torrential rains intermittently throughout the day, he said.
Wu said the force of the storm would increase over the next two days, especially in the east, adding that the storm could completely envelope the country tomorrow.
People living or traveling in mountainous areas should prepare for mudslides, he said, as areas in the north, east and central Taiwan could receive more than 1,000mm of rain, Wu said. Mountainous areas in the south are expected to see 700mm of rain, he said.
The bureau advises against any fishing or water sport activities until after the typhoon has passed, he said.
Flooding was reported in Taipei County’s Junghe (中和), Yonghe (永和) and Tucheng (土城) cities, the Central News Agency said.
Although flooding lasted several hours and in certain areas water levels reached 40cm, no substantial damage was reported.
Many public events were canceled because of the weather, including a kite festival and an Aborigine sports day in Taipei City.
All local governments in Taiwan proper declared today a typhoon day. At press time, only Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu had yet to do so.
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