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.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
POLLS CONCERNS: There are concerns within the KMT that a Cheng Li-wun-Xi Jinping meeting could trigger a voter backlash in elections in November Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to visit next month, her party and Chinese state media reported yesterday. Cheng, who took up her role in November last year, “gladly accepted” the invitation to lead a delegation to China, the KMT said in a statement, confirming a Xinhua news agency report. Cheng “looks forward to joint efforts by both parties to advance the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, promote cross-strait exchanges and cooperation, and work for peace in the Taiwan Strait and greater well-being for people on both sides,” the statement said. Chinese
SIGNIFICANT TO THE WORLD: The delegation’s visit aims to send a clear message that bipartisan support for Taiwan is consistent, US Senator Jeanne Shaheen said The US Senate’s bipartisan support for Taiwan remains strong and Taiwan-US ties would continue for decades to come, a US Senate delegation said in Taipei yesterday, while calling on the legislature to swiftly pass a special defense budget bill. A US delegation led by Democratic US Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican US Senator John Curtis — both members of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations — arrived in Taiwan yesterday for a two-day visit. The other senators of the delegation included Senate Taiwan Caucus cochair Thom Tillis and Senate Committee on Armed Services senior member Jacky Rosen. Shaheen told a news
RSS