The Central Weather Bureau yesterday said that chances for issuing a land warning for Typhoon Goni were lower than previously expected, but added that people should still prepare for heavy to torrential rainfall over the weekend.
At 10pm yesterday, Goni was centered 240km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), on the southernmost tip of Taiwan, moving north-northeast at 16kph, the weather bureau said.
The typhoon finally made an expected sharp turn toward the north in the early hours of yesterday and, if it continues on its current path, chances are low for a land warning to be issued, the bureau said.
The bureau late on Friday said, before the storm changed course, that a land warning could be issued as early as yesterday. On its current path, the typhoon’s eye is unlikely to make landfall in Taiwan and its intensity diminished somewhat overnight, the bureau said.
The 200km-radius storm’s maximum sustained winds were estimated at 155kph, with gusts of up to 191kph, both slower than the previous bulletin’s figures.
However, the bureau warned that Goni would still affect the nation, as it is expected to move north along Taiwan’s eastern coast, likely bringing torrential rainfall to Yilan and Hualien counties. Torrential rain indicates an accumulation of no less than 200 millimeters of precipitation in a 24-hour period.
Local airlines yesterday said that some of their flights had been disrupted by the typhoon, and more cancelations and delays could be expected today.
Strong winds and heavy rain were already buffeting eastern Taiwan and were expected to continue into today, causing further flight disruptions.
Uni Air said it canceled the return leg of its service between Taipei and Taitung, and flight B7-881 from Taipei to Kinmen.
Mandarin Airlines said flights AE391, AE392, AE395 and AE396 between Taipei and Taitung, and flights AE7931 and AE7932 between Kaohsiung and Hualien, would be canceled.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS