The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) issued a land alert for Typhoon Longwang early yesterday, predicting the whole of Taiwan could expect strong winds and heavy rain, with Hualien and Ilan facing the worst of the storm.
The bureau forecast that the mountainous areas in Hualien and Ilan would receive rainfall of between 600mm and 800mm, while those in Kaohsiung and Pingtung should receive between 500mm and 700mm. Taipei City is estimated to receive from 250mm to 450 mm of rainfall.
The typhoon is moving west-northwest toward Taiwan at 25kph. The storm, packing center winds of 184kph and gusts of up to 227kph, is expected to hit the nation today.
President Chen Shui-bian (
Hsieh said Chen had called him the night before from Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, where he was making a transit stop on his way back home after an official trip to Central America and the Caribbean.
Hsieh reminded residents to stock up on drinking water and candles, and for those living in areas prone to mudslides or flooding to seek higher ground or be prepared.
Taiwan is hit by an average of 3.5 typhoons each year.
Hsieh inspected the Central Disaster Prevention and Relief Center in Taipei with Minister of the Interior Su Jia-chyuan (
Similar disaster prevention and relief centers in counties and cities around the nation also have swung into action.
Hsieh spoke of a possible surge in vegetable prices after the typhoon, saying that price hikes come about only because of public expectations. He said he believed there would be an abundant supply to meet demand.
Because of the approaching typhoon, train services nationwide have suspended services today and many events originally scheduled for today have been postponed, including the Democratic Progressive Party's semi-annual national convention and the annual Terry Fox cancer charity run in Taipei.
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