With Typhoon Soudelor looked set to affect the nation’s east coast, Hualien and Yilan county governments yesterday announced that offices would be closed today.
As of 8:30pm, the Central Weather Bureau had raised both sea and land warnings.
Ships out at sea to the northwest and southeast of Taiwan, including areas close to Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島), the Taiwan Strait and the northern parts of Taiwan should be on the lookout for strong winds and high waves, the bureau said.
At press time, the typhoon was 790km southeast of Hualien and was moving northwest at 23kph.
Classed as a category 2 typhoon by the Japan Meteorological Agency, the storm’s radius is expected to extend between 100km and 280km depending on whether its radius is classed as 7 or 10.
The bureau expects the typhoon to increase in strength as it approaches and to be located 260km southeast of Hualien County by 5pm today.
Photo: Pichi Chuang, Reuters
Soudelor is currently classed as a medium typhoon, with the potential of being raised to a strong typhoon.
Organizers of the Yilan International Children’s Folklore and Folkgame Festival said that activities scheduled for today and tomorrow have been suspended, with the last day of the festival being extended to Monday.
People planning to travel to outlying islands should contact airline companies for updates on flight information and schedules.
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