Heavy rain brought by Tropical Storm Mitag (米塔) caused minor damage to the nation yesterday.
Landslides disrupted traffic on the Suhua Highway (Provincial Highway No. 9). By 6pm, only one lane was open to two-way traffic.
The highway has now been closed to traffic nine times this year because of landslides caused by typhoons.
PHOTO: EPA
Landslides were also reported on provincial highways No. 7 in Ilan County and No. 8 in Hualien County yesterday afternoon.
Road maintenance officials had managed to resume normal operations of highway No. 8 (Toroko Gorge) by early yesterday evening.
Three airports on the nation's surrounding islands -- Chimei (七美) in Penghu County, Lanyu (蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) -- were closed because of the inclement weather brought by Mitag.
The airport in Taitung was also closed yesterday morning, but reopened at 1:30pm. Hengchun (
By 6pm, 43 domestic flights had been either delayed or canceled.
Meanwhile, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday that Mitag has been downgraded from a typhoon to a severe tropical storm, but the bureau continued to caution residents in the east and south of the nation against heavy rainfall and strong winds.
As of 5:30pm, the center of Mitag was located approximately 280km south of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻). The radius of the storm had reduced from 200km to 180km and it was moving north-northeast at 12kph. Maximum wind speeds near the center were measured at 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph.
Accumulated rain topped 623mm in Nioudou (
The bureau said yesterday that heavy rain would continue today and is expected to ease by tomorrow, adding that the temperature tomorrow could potentially drop to a low of 14oC owing to a mass of cold air following the storm.
For today, the bureau issued further torrential rain alerts for residents in Keelung, Taipei and Taoyuan and those living between Ilan and the Hengchun Peninsula. Residents of the mountainous areas of Hualien and Taitung counties were told to be prepared for torrential rain.
Because of the interaction between seasonal winds from the northeast and the circumfluence of Mitag, winds in coastal areas and the Hengchun Peninsula could reach up to 117kph, the bureau warned.
GAINING STEAM: The scheme initially failed to gather much attention, with only 188 cards issued in its first year, but gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic Applications for the Employment Gold Card have increased in the past few years, with the card having been issued to a total of 13,191 people from 101 countries since its introduction in 2018, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Those who have received the card have included celebrities, such as former NBA star Dwight Howard and Australian-South Korean cheerleader Dahye Lee, the NDC said. The four-in-one Employment Gold Card combines a work permit, resident visa, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and re-entry permit. It was first introduced in February 2018 through the Act Governing Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及雇用法),
RESILIENCE: Deepening bilateral cooperation would extend the peace sustained over the 45 years since the Taiwan Relations Act, Greene said Taiwan-US relations are built on deep economic ties and shared values, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday, adding that strengthening supply chain security in critical industries, enhancing societal resilience through cooperation and deepening partnerships are key to ensuring peace and stability for Taiwan in the years ahead. Greene made the remarks at the National Security Youth Forum, organized by National Taiwan University’s National Security and Strategy Studies Institution in Taipei. In his address in Mandarin Chinese, Greene said the Taiwan-US relationship is built on deep economic ties and shared interests, and grows stronger through the enduring friendship between
CAUTION URGED: Xiaohongshu and Douyin — the Chinese version of TikTok — are tools the Chinese government uses for its ‘united front’ propaganda, the MAC said Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) yesterday urged people who use Chinese social media platforms to be cautious of being influenced by Beijing’s “united front” propaganda and undermining Taiwan’s sovereignty. Chiu made the remarks in response to queries about Chinese academic Zhang Weiwei (張維為) saying that as young Taiwanese are fond of interacting on Chinese app Xiaohongshu (小紅書, known as RedNote in English), “after unification with China, it would be easier to govern Taiwan than Hong Kong.” Zhang is professor of international relations at Shanghai’s Fudan University and director of its China Institute. When giving a speech at China’s Wuhan
ENHANCE DETERRENCE: Taiwan has to display ‘fierce resolve’ to defend itself for China to understand that the costs of war outweigh potential gains, Koo said Taiwan’s armed forces must reach a high level of combat readiness by 2027 to effectively deter a potential Chinese invasion, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said in an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) published yesterday. His comments came three days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the US Senate that deterring a Chinese attack on Taiwan requires making a conflict “cost more than what it’s worth.” Rubio made the remarks in response to a question about US policy on Taiwan’s defense from Republican Senator John Cornyn, who said that Chinese
RSS