The Central Weather Bureau issued a sea warning for Tropical Storm Kompasu at 8:30pm yesterday as the storm continues to move west toward the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines.
As of 8pm yesterday, Kompasu was 730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost point of Taiwan proper, moving northwest at 21kph, the bureau said.
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 82.8kph, with gusts of up to 108kph, it added.
Former bureau Weather Forecast Center director Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said Kompasu would be closest to Taiwan between this afternoon and tomorrow.
The storm would most likely pass through the Bashi Channel before entering the South China Sea, bringing torrential rainfall to eastern Taiwan and mountainous areas in northern Taiwan, said Wu, an adjunct associate professor of atmospheric sciences at National Central University.
Another storm, Lionrock, was centered near Hainan Island off southern China early yesterday and is forecast to move northwest, posing no threat to Taiwan, the bureau said.
Also, a tropical depression east-northeast of Guam developed into Tropical Storm Namtheun at about 8am yesterday, it said, adding that Namtheun is forecast to move northwest and have no direct effect on Taiwan.
Meanwhile, the bureau said northeastern winds could bring moisture to Taiwan from this afternoon, bringing rain to most parts of the country.
Northern Taiwan could see showers, it said, warning of strong gusts in areas north of Taoyuan, the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) in southern Taiwan, as well as in the southeast and outlying islands.
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
MASSIVE LOSS: If the next recall votes also fail, it would signal that the administration of President William Lai would continue to face strong resistance within the legislature The results of recall votes yesterday dealt a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to overturn the opposition-controlled legislature, as all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers survived the recall bids. Backed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) DPP, civic groups led the recall drive, seeking to remove 31 out of 39 KMT lawmakers from the 113-seat legislature, in which the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together hold a majority with 62 seats, while the DPP holds 51 seats. The scale of the recall elections was unprecedented, with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug. 23. For a
SOUTH CHINA SEA? The Philippine president spoke of adding more classrooms and power plants, while skipping tensions with China over disputed areas Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday blasted “useless and crumbling” flood control projects in a state of the nation address that focused on domestic issues after a months-long feud with his vice president. Addressing a joint session of congress after days of rain that left at least 31 dead, Marcos repeated his recent warning that the nation faced a climate change-driven “new normal,” while pledging to investigate publicly funded projects that had failed. “Let’s not pretend, the people know that these projects can breed corruption. Kickbacks ... for the boys,” he said, citing houses that were “swept away” by the floods. “Someone has