Typhoon Conson, whose outer edge reached Hengchun Peninsula in the southernmost part of Taiwan early yesterday morning, shifted eastward at noon, posing less of a direct threat to the nation, the Central Weather Bureau reported.
As a result, the bureau lifted land warnings for Typhoon Conson at 5:30pm yesterday, saying the typhoon had left the Taiwan area and was located at sea 190km north of Orchid island (as of 5pm) and was moving at a speed of 30kph in a northeasterly direction.
The bureau had originally issued warnings against gusty winds and torrential rains in the Bashi Channel, the Tungsha (Pratas) Islands and Taiwan's southeastern offshore areas, including Orchid Island and Green Island, until late today.
Bureau officials said that the Bashi Channel and the seas off eastern and northern Taiwan were still under the influence of the fourth typhoon formed in the Pacific this year. However, as of press time, the bureau expected to lift sea warnings yesterday evening at the earliest.
The typhoon has brought ample rain to northeastern Taiwan, the officials said, adding that Tungshan in Ilan had 228mm as of 5:30pm and Lotung 200mm.
Conson, with a radius of 150km and maximum sustained winds of up to 120kph, was centered about 60km south-southeast of Orchid Island off southeast Taiwan at 11am yesterday, moving northeasterly at a speed of 17kph to 15kph, the bureau reported.
With the typhoon's course shifting slightly eastward and its speed slowing, Conson's outer edge is expected to move off Taiwan by nightfall as the typhoon sweeps through the ocean corridor along the east of the country, bureau meteorologists said.
While students and employees on Orchid Island were given the day off due to the typhoon, no major accidents occurred due to the weather. The Typhoon Conson Disaster Response Center in Taitung County recorded no injuries within its jurisdiction except for one minor injury on Orchid Island.
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