The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) yesterday said it could issue a sea alert for Typhoon Goni today, adding that the storm has the potential to strengthen.
Information from the bureau showed that the center of the typhoon was 1,150km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) as of 2pm. It was moving west at 20kph, with the radius of the storm reaching 180km. Winds near the center of the storm topped 173kph, with gusts reaching 209kph.
Goni is forecast to turn northward tomorrow and move offshore along the east coast. The outer edge of the storm is forecast to reach the coast.
Photo: CNA
The bureau said the sea alert could be issued some time between tonight and tomorrow morning, adding that it could issue a land alert for east coast areas, depending on the angle at which the typhoon turns northward.
The bureau said it is to activate the Dropwindsonde Observation for Typhoon Surveillance near the Taiwan Region (DOTSTAR) today to gather key data about Goni.
The project, jointly run by the bureau, Taiwan Typhoon and Flood Research Institute, National Taiwan University and Aerospace Industrial Development Corp, is the only project in Asia that uses aircraft to monitor typhoons.
Photo: Chen Kuan-pei, Taipei Times
An aircraft is to fly at an altitude of about 4,877m to observe Goni from key areas along its predicted path, the bureau said.
Statistics show that DOTSTAR can reduce the margin of error for 72-hour typhoon forecasts by about 6 percent.
Elsewhere, Typhoon Atsani, which is moving toward Japan, has strengthened, reports showed.
Meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that aside from high-pressure systems, Atsani is another factor that could affect Goni’s path.
“Even though these two typhoons might not show the Fujiwhara effect [in which typhoons can orbit each other], Atsani might affect the development of Pacific high-pressure systems, which could in turn affect the atmospheric circumstances surrounding Goni,” Wu said. “Goni also affects the strength of Pacific high-pressure systems. Add to that changes to weather systems in middle latitudes, the factors affecting Goni’s movement are very complicated.”
Typhoon Soudelor, which caused severe damage earlier this month, was only affected by high-pressure systems, making it relatively simple to forecast, Wu said.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)