The Central Weather Bureau lifted both the sea and land warnings for Tropical Storm Talim yesterday, but warned extremely heavy to torrential rain was likely to occur in central and southern areas because of the southwest monsoon.
The bureau downgraded Talim to a tropical depression, which was moving northeastward near the southern coast of South Korea.
Bureau forecaster Lin Hsiu-wen (林秀雯) said the southwesterly monsoon would gradually weaken today and tomorrow. While the rain was expected to ease, some regions should still be prepared for the possibility of heavy or extremely heavy rain, Lin said.
Photo: Liu Wan-chun, Taipei Times
While Talim had weakened and moved away from Taiwan, residents in the south were still suffering from damage to roads and other infrastructure caused by the torrential rain. Flooding could still be seen in rural areas yesterday.
Two people died and one was injured amid the havoc wreaked by the storm, according to the Central Emergency Operation Center.
The bureau originally forecast that the accumulated rainfall in mountainous areas of southern Taiwan could reach 1,200mm to 1,500mm and that mountainous areas in central Taiwan could see 700mm to 1,100mm.
However, those estimates were higher than the actual rainfall and the bureau on Wednesday night had to quickly adjust its forecast down to between 800mm and 1,200mm in mountainous areas in the south and between 600mm to 900mm in central Taiwan.
Lin said rainfall estimates continue to be a major challenge for forecasters.
“We cannot afford to underestimate the dual influence of a tropical storm and the southwesterly monsoon,” she said. “In view of the disasters they could potentially bring, we decided to issue a rainfall estimate, like we did when another southwesterly monsoon hit the nation last week.”
Lin said that Talim moved faster than expected and its power continued to weaken as it moved away. The southwest monsoon caused only sporadic rather than continuous rain, causing the rainfall to accumulate much more slowly than last week, she said.
Statistics from the bureau showed the accumulated rainfall in Greater Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District (桃源) from Monday to Thursday was 741mm. The accumulated rainfall in Chunrih (春日) and Majia (瑪家) townships in Pingtung County were 678mm and 590mm respectively.
Daniel Wu (吳德榮), former director of the bureau’s forecast center, said he did not think the bureau was to blame for overestimating the rainfall.
“In the past, the bureau would only give rainfall estimates after the typhoon arrived, which would be subject to change every three hours,” Wu said.
“The earlier you give the estimate, the greater the likelihood of error,” he added.
He said the bureau estimated the highest rainfall would be between 1,200mm and 1,500mm, but media had only focused on the 1,500mm part.
The bureau must take various factors into consideration when it makes rainfall estimates and the numbers need to be adjusted constantly depending on the actual situation, he said.
“The monsoon will continue to affect the nation for two more days, so who knows if the nation will see more rain?” Wu said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft