Typhoon In-Fa’s chance of impacting Taiwan and prompting the need for a land alert has lessened, as it has veered north faster than expected, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday.
In-Fa was expected to come closest to Taiwan on Wednesday night or Thursday, but it has turned north, away from the nation, CWB forecaster Lin Ping-yu (林稟煜) said.
The change in the typhoon’s trajectory has reduced the likelihood of the bureau issuing a land warning, Lin added.
Photo: Daniel Ceng Shou-yi, EPA-EFE
Nevertheless, the typhoon would still bring heavy rain and strong wind, he said.
Since Wednesday night, a sea warning has been in effect for nearby waters as In-Fa approaches, but would likely be lifted today or tomorrow as it leaves the region, Lin said.
As of 8pm yesterday, In-Fa was about 350km east of Taipei and moving northwest at 14kph, the CWB said.
The typhoon had maximum sustained winds of 144kph, with gusts of up to 180kph, CWB data showed.
Despite the reduced chance of a land alert, In-Fa is expected to affect waters north, northeast and southeast of Taiwan, the CWB said, adding that fishing boats should take precautionary measures.
A heavy rain warning has been issued for Keelung and Hsinchu City, as well as Taichung, while an extremely heavy rain advisory has been issued for Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan, and Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan counties.
The CWB defines heavy rain as accumulated rainfall of 80mm or more within a 24-hour period or 40mm or more in an hour, while extremely heavy rain is accumulated rainfall of 200mm or more within 24 hours.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique