Leaving at least two people dead in its wake, Typhoon Mindulle was expected to leave Taiwan last night, dumping more rain onto the island's central and southern regions, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday.
The rainfall brought by Mindulle has temporarily relieved the thirst of southern Taiwan, which has suffered a drought during the past months.
At least two people were killed during the storm as of press time last night. The pair was killed in a landslide on a road in Alishan.
PHOTO: CHEN TSE-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
Hualien resident Lee Cheng-nan (
The storm, which packed winds of 90kph and gusts of up to 120kph as it swept past the nation, began dumping rain yesterday morning. Streets in Taipei County's Sanchung City and Pingtung's Dong-kong District were flooded.
Typhoon Mindulle brought 6.78cm of rainfall to Hualien County and 5.05cm to Taitung County.
The south also received around 3cm to 4cm rainfall. Water levels at Tsengwen Reservoir in Tainan County climbed higher, with 1.87cm of rainfall.
The storm also disrupted the eastern region's electric grid, leaving 53,206 households in Hualien and 12,063 households in Taitung without power. A total of 70,823 households nationwide were affected by blackouts.
Domestic air and sea traffic were also at a standstill yesterday. Airports in Taitung, Green Island, Lanyu and Hengchun were shut down, while all ferry services between Taiwan and its islets were interrupted. The Taiwan Railway Administration resumed operation after delaying trains on the Taipei-Hualien line yesterday afternoon.
The weather bureau said it could lift the land warning by 11:30pm last night and might issue an alert for heavy rain brought by the typhoon's wake.
Typhoon Mindulle affected domestic air transportation, causing a temporary closure of Taipei's Sungshan Airport yesterday morning.
Domestic flights resumed normal operations around 3pm yesterday, while international flight schedules were unaffected, according to air carriers.
Business activity across Taiwan remained normal yesterday, while retailers saw marked growth in the sale of household necessities, such as instant noodles.
Brenda Yen (
The sales volume for bottled water and batteries also rose around 50 percent, she added.
Stockpiling of foods prior to a typhoon's arrival was not as prevalent as it has been in past years, but fears of shortages due to damaged crops may trigger retailers to raise prices of produce over the next few days.
Kaohsiung and Hualien counties reported agricultural losses at NT$10 million and NT$200 million, respectively, the Central News Agency said yesterday, citing estimates by county governments.
additional reporting by Jackie Lin
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS