Torrential rain brought by Tropical Storm Nanmadol continued to pummel the south of the country yesterday as the storm inched its way toward China.
Pingtung County was hit particularly hard, with flooding reported in Hengchun (恆春), Checheng (車城), Manjhou (滿州), Jiadong (佳冬) and Linbian (林邊) townships.
As the rain continued, the Central Weather Bureau raised its rainfall forecast for the Hengchun Peninsula to 1,400mm and said precipitation in mountainous areas of Taitung County could surpass 1,200mm.
Photo: CNA
Accumulated rainfall in Hengchun from Sunday until 4:30pm yesterday had reached 938mm, the bureau said. This was followed by Manjhou’s Jialeshuei (佳樂水) and Majia villages (瑪家) with 915mm and 835mm of rainfall respectively.
The bureau said the top 10 areas with the highest levels of precipitation were all in Pingtung County.
The rapid rise in rainfall prompted the Pingtung County Government to cancel classes yesterday morning, although many parents had already sent their children to school.
Meanwhile, the Maju Jaya 3, a Panama-registered cargo ship, ran aground near the Tsengwen River Estuary on Monday night. The Southern Coastal Patrol Office said it was ready to deal with any potential oil leak and rescue the crew members once conditions at sea had improved.
The Central Emergency Operation Center said that the storm had caused one death in Taoyuan County and agricultural losses estimated at NT$75.5 million (US$2.6 million).
The bureau lifted the land warning for Taiwan proper at 5:30pm yesterday, but kept its land warning in place for Penghu and Kinmen. It also maintained its sea warning for ships operating in the Taiwan Strait and off the northern coast of Taiwan.
As of 8:30pm, the center of the storm was 60km off the east coast of Kinmen.
Hengchun officials said government offices and schools would be closed today.
Cheng Ming-dean (鄭明典), director of the bureau’s weather forecast center, said Nanmadol was moving slowly because it was surrounded by high air pressure systems.
Cheng said Taiwan could expect at least two more typhoons to hit the nation before the end of the typhoon season.
Earlier this year, the bureau had forecast that the nation could be hit by three to five typhoons or tropical storms this year. While summer is generally typhoon season, Cheng said 12 typhoons and tropical storms had formed between July and last month, slightly lower than climate average of 13.5.
“Those threatening to hit Taiwan are generally those formed to the east of the Philippines, but most of them veered away from the nation this year because they were under the influence of a strong high air pressure system from the Pacific Ocean, which explains the high temperatures in July and in August,” Cheng said.
“Typhoons will continue to form in the latter half of this year, though the chance of them hitting Taiwan directly are reduced in general,” Cheng said.
While the bureau estimated that the average temperature and rainfall this fall would likely be within the normal range, Cheng said that the persisting la Nina phenomenon could cause the convection to move west this year and make it more likely that typhoons would hit Taiwan.
‘UNFRIENDLY’: Changing the nationality listing of Taiwanese residents to ‘China’ goes against EU foreign policy as well as democratic and human rights principles, MOFA said Taiwan yesterday called on Denmark to correct its designation of the nationality of Taiwanese residents as “China” or face retaliatory measures. The Danish government in 2024 changed the nationality of Taiwanese citizens on their residence permits from “Taiwan” to “China.” The decision goes against EU foreign policy and contravenes democratic and human rights principles, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said. Denmark should present a solution acceptable to Taiwan as soon as possible and correct the erroneous designation to preserve the longstanding friendship between the two nations, Hsiao said. The issue could damage Denmark’s image and business reputation in Taiwan,
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
SUFFICIENT: The president said Taiwan has enough oil for next month, with reserves covering more than 100 days and natural gas enough for 12 to 14 days A restart plan for the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) would be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Commission by the end of the month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, reversing the government’s policy to abolish nuclear energy. On May 17 last year, Taiwan shut down its last nuclear reactor and became the first non-nuclear nation in East Asia, fulfilling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s pledge of a “nuclear-free homeland.” Even without nuclear power, Taiwan can maintain a stable electricity supply until 2032,
RSS