The Central Weather Bureau lifted sea and land warnings for Typhoon Nanmadol at 2:30pm yesterday.
Bureau meteorologists said the strength of the rare December typhoon was greatly reduced after it made landfall in Fungliao Township, Pingtung County at 7:40am. It left Taimali Township, Taitung County for sea at 9: 30am.
A woman was killed during the storm when she was hit by a flying billboard while riding her scooter in Tainan County. Rescuers are currently searching for two people who went missing in Hualien. One was swept into a river while driving, and the other was engulfed in a mudslide as he was checking his water main.
Sixty-two places around the country reported rainfall of more than 300mm over a 24-hour period. The Pulowan mountainous community in eastern Hualien County recorded 800mm of rain.
No major casualties were reported in Taipei, but Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) urged the public to be on alert as there could still be heavy rain.
In Taipei, Yangmingshan registered the most rainfall of mountainous areas at 160mm, while Nankang registered the most in the plains at 125mm.
The Council of Agriculture (COA) estimated that the typhoon caused agricultural losses of NT$2.60 million (US$81,250).
COA officials said that 675 hectares of fields in Pingtung County were damaged, with crops of wax apples, watermelons and onions being most affected.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications said that as of 10am, Nanmadol had damaged 12 highways, mostly in eastern Taiwan and Kaohsiung.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it