With Tropical Storm Sanvu moving toward China and the depression belt from the south moving north, the Central Weather Bureau yesterday continued to warn that residents in southern and eastern Taiwan should watch out for downpours, while those in mountainous areas were advised to prepare for mudslides.
As Sanvu continued to move west-northwest, the sea warning is expected to be lifted tonight. But if the depression belt from the south moves close to Taiwan, the heavy rain will be likely to stay until Wednesday, the bureau said.
"After [Tropical Storm] Sanvu moves toward China, we are paying more attention to a depression belt from the south, which is moving north and is expected to bring rains to Taiwan. If Sanvu does not change its direction, the weather will stay unstable for the following few days," said Fred Tsai (蔡甫甸), a division chief at the bureau's Weather Forecast Center.
Tropical Storm Sanvu was 290km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation's southernmost tip, at 11:00am yesterday. With a radius of 200km, it was moving west-northwest at 23kph, packing winds of 65kph, the bureau said.
Besides heavy rains in the southern and northeastern Taiwan, northern Taiwan was predicted to experience strong, gusty winds and an increase in temperatures because of descending air currents.
As Tropical Storm Sanvu passes through the Bashi Channel (巴士海峽) south of the country, water supplies could again be an issue in the south. To prevent excess sediment in reservoirs brought by heavy rains from affecting the water supply in the greater Kaohsiung area, the Taiwan Water Corporation said it will provide four water pumps and build fences around river dams, so that the water supply won't be affected.
Two typhoons in the space of three weeks brought a heavy volume of rain and stirred up sediment, as well as depositing silt and debris into reservoirs and causing water purification problems in the Kaoping River area.
The water corporation promised to work on purification in the area so that the supply for greater Kaohsiung would not be disrupted.
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
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