Typhoon Khanun drifted north of its earlier projected path and appeared likely to skirt the northern tip of the country, having less of an impact than anticipated, according to the Central Weather Bureau yesterday.
However, the northern and northeastern parts of Taiwan, including Ilan, Keelung and Taipei, should guard against strong winds and heavy rains today, they said.
In the bureau report, released at 8:30pm last night, Typhoon Khanun's center was about 260km east of Keelung, eastern Taiwan. With a radius of 80km, it was moving northwest at 23kph. Its center winds had a maximum speed of 43 meters per second.
Weather forecast center director Wu Teh-jung (吳德榮) indicated that it is expected that Khanun, the 15th typhoon reported in the Pacific this year, will leave the nation by this afternoon.
Ships sailing or operating in waters north, northeast and southeast of Taiwan are on high alert. Affected by the approaching storm, the northern, northeastern and eastern parts of the country were showered Saturday with rain, and winds picked up in the evening.
Mountainous areas in northern and central Taiwan were expected to experience heavy rains by this afternoon, which may cause landslides, falling rocks and mudflows.
Meteorologists forecast that the mountainous areas of Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli are expected to receive accumulated rainfall of between 400mm and 600mm, while those in central Taiwan could see between 100mm and 200mm and those in southern Taiwan around 100mm.
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