The wet weather spell is expected to continue until Thursday, as a hovering front and the southwest monsoon bring rainfall and thunderstorms across the nation, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday.
A heavy rain advisory was yesterday issued for the north of the nation, the northeast, mountainous areas of Taitung County and other areas in the southeast as well as Penghu and Kinmen counties, CWB forecaster Lin Po-tung (林伯東) said.
The rain will gradually weaken tomorrow and Wednesday, but the rainy weather is not expected to completely dissipate until Thursday, Lin said.
Photo: CNA
“People will have to wait until Thursday to see sunlight,” he said.
Meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮), the bureau’s former director-general, yesterday said the weather would gradually stabilize from tomorrow when the “plum rain front” moves into waters north of Taiwan.
Taiwan will be free of the direct effects of the front on Wednesday, Wu said.
However, he advised people to avoid outdoor activities in areas prone to landslides or floods.
Meanwhile, with the rain easing, a special torrential rain disaster response operation center was disbanded yesterday.
An inter-ministerial response operation center formed on Tuesday last week to deal with the potentially disastrous weather event was disbanded at 11am yesterday at the behest of center commander and Minister of Economic Affairs Li Chih-kung (李世光).
Disaster monitoring and response efforts would be continued by the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC), the Cabinet said.
Premier Lin Chuan (林全) asked disaster response officials to continue monitoring the front and prepare for potential landslides as days of torrential rain have saturated the soil in landslide-prone areas.
The government has launched a disaster mitigation program to help people worst affected by the torrential rains, especially in mountainous areas in the central and southern Taiwan, the Cabinet said.
It was the first time in 10 years that two special disaster response operations centers were established within one week, the CEOC said.
A wave of torrential rain that arrived on June 1 and lasted for days wreaked havoc across the nation. It was immediately followed by the rain front that arrived last week.
The most recent rainy weather disrupted the power supply to 1,779 households, mostly in Chiayi County, but power has been restored in all affected areas, the CEOC said.
A total of 4,579 people in six municipalities were evacuated and 147 people have been housed in temporary accommodation.
A woman in Taichung was reportedly injured by falling construction debris.
“Red alerts” have been issued for 187 areas with high potential for landslides, and “yellow alerts” have been issued for 261 areas deemed to be at moderate risk.
A total of 55 places were severely flooded, but all the waters have been cleared, the CEOC said.
Agricultural losses are estimated at NT$9.99 million (US$328,824), with lossses in Yunlin County alone reaching NT$5.52 million, the Council of Agriculture said.
Fields and groves covering 501 hectares have been affected, with the most severely damaged crops rice, peanuts, pears, watermelons and persimmons.
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