The Central Weather Bureau yesterday issued a land alert for Typhoon Megi, as it approached the east coast bringing strong winds and heavy rainfall to most of the nation.
The bureau said the alert applies to all cities and counties in Taiwan proper, as well as Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島), adding that a sea alert issued late on Sunday night applies to the Bashi Channel near the coast of Taiwan.
At 8pm yesterday, the center of the typhoon was 490km west of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻). The radius of the storm was 250km. It was moving west-northwest at 20kph, with maximum wind speeds reaching 216kph.
Photo: CNA
Schools and offices on Green and Orchid islands were closed yesterday evening as the two islands faced an immediate threat from the typhoon.
The bureau recorded wind speeds on Orchid Island reaching Level 13 on the Beaufort scale.
Sixteen domestic flights and four international flights were canceled yesterday due to the imminent arrival of Megi.
Photo: AFP
At press time last night all counties and cities had declared a typhoon day, except Kinmen and Lienchiang counties, which declared a regular work and school day.
Yunlin county, Chiayi city and county, as well as Tainan and Kaohsiung, declared this morning a regular work and school day, and a typhoon day after 12pm.
Bureau forecaster Hsieh Ming-chang (謝明昌) said the typhoon is expected to affect the nation all day today and tomorrow morning with heavy rainfall and strong winds as it moves from the east coast to the west coast.
Although most of the nation had sunny skies yesterday, rain and winds brought by Megi started affecting the east coast and northern Taiwan yesterday afternoon and evening, and are expected to continue today, Hsieh said.
Megi’s eye is forecast to make landfall somewhere between Hualien and Taitung this afternoon and enter the Taiwan Strait later this evening, Hsieh said.
Rain is expected to quickly accumulate in the southwest after about 8pm today as southwesterly winds begin to pick up speed, Hsieh said.
Hsieh added that rain is expected to ease across most of the nation by tomorrow morning, but Kinmen would see stormy weather throughout the day.
Weather Risk Explorer Inc chief executive officer Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) said on Facebook that people in the north in particular must pay attention to typhoon updates because Megi’s path is moving slightly northward, unlike the other three typhoons this year that hit mainly the east and south of the nation.
Former bureau director-general Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said the area to the north of the typhoon’s center is likely to face a greater threat, as the typhoon’s northern side has a longer radius than its southern side.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration said all domestic flights would be canceled today.
Low-cost carrier Peach Aviation yesterday announced that it would cancel 12 flights to Japan scheduled to depart from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport today, including those to Tokyo, Osaka and Okinawa.
TransAsia Airways (復興航空) said that it would continue its flights today as planned, except flights from Kaohsiung to Lanzhou which would depart three hours ahead of schedule.
Two Japan Airlines flights —from Taoyuan to Osaka International Airport and from Taoyuan to Tokyo Narita Airport — are to depart at 8:15am and 8:30am today, respectively.
XiamenAir said it would cancel eight flights between Taoyuan and Fuzhou, Quanzhou and Xiamen and Xiamen and Changsha, as well as two flights between Xiamen and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport).
People scheduled to travel today are advised to contact the airlines directly before going to the airport.
High-speed rail services are to be suspended all day today.
With the exception of commuter trains on the west coast that are expected to operate weather permitting, all other Taiwan Railways Administration services are canceled today.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a