As Typhoon Nock-Ten lumbered towards Taiwan, the Center Weather Bureau yesterday warned that the storm will shroud the whole country today, while the storm's first victim, 54-year-old Wu Jun-nan (吳俊男), was reported missing in Ilan after he went fishing yesterday morning.
The storm is expected to hit primarily northern and eastern Taiwan today. Local governments of Taipei City, Taipei County, Keelung City, Taoyuan County, I-Lan County, Hualien County and Taitung County had declared a typhoon holiday today. Schools and public offices in these cities and counties will be closed.
PHOTO: CNA
"People in Taipei, Ilan, Hualien and Taitung should brace for strong winds and torrential rain," said the forecast center director Daniel Wu (
"Do not go to the beach or go fishing in the next few days," Wu cautioned.
The Bureau predicted that Nock-Ten (a Laotian word for bird) will roar through Taiwan's eastern seaboard and bring sudden downpours to the Taipei, Hualien, and Ilan regions. The storm is expected to drench mountainous areas in Ilan and Datun mountain in Taipei with 350mm of rainfall within 24 hours. The Hualien mountains are due to receive more than 200mm of rainfall.
Residents in remote mountain villages must stay alert to landslides, mudslides, tumbling rocks, any river rising and flooding, the bureau warned.
"Although Nock-Ten has slackened its pace from 25kph to 19kph, its strength did not diminish and its structure remains firm and intact," Wu added.
The Bureau also advised residents in lowlying areas to prepare for flood and those by the seashore to watch out for sea surge.
Precipitation in northern mountains will exceed over 1,000mm in the following days, according to the bureau.
"Climbers and hikers should cancel their plans and those in the mountains now should leave as soon as possible," Wu said.
The National Disaster Prevention and Relief Center has already contacted 949 among the 970 registered climbers currently in the mountains and asked them to return home. Yet 21 people on four different teams are still out of contact as of press time yesterday.
According to the Center, some 2,148 Chinese fishermen were taken in at shelters in Taiwan ports. Another 2,274 have come into port but stayed on board their boats.
To minimize the storm's damage to agriculture, the Council of Agriculture called for farmers in the south to reap rice before Typhoon Nock-Ten smashes their paddies.
For those whose rice is not yet ready for harvest, the Council suggested that farmers pump more water into the field and keep the water level high to help stabilize rice plants.
Concerned that the Keelung River's sudden surge could threaten Taipei residents downstream, the Water Resource Agency under the Ministry of Economic Affairs opened the Yuanshantse Flood-Diversion Tunnel yesterday.
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