The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) issued a sea warning for Typhoon Haikui at about 8:30pm yesterday, as its storm circle approached waters to the east of Taiwan and the Bashi Channel.
As of 8pm yesterday, the eye of Haikui was 730km east of Taiwan’s southernmost tip, Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), and was moving west-northwest at 15kph to 19kph, with sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWB data showed.
Due to the approaching Haikui and the effect of its periphery, Taiwan could experience heavy rain from today to Wednesday next week, the bureau said.
From Thursday to Friday next week, Taiwan would still see rain due to the effect of a low-pressure zone, it said.
Haikui is forecast to make landfall in eastern Taiwan before affecting the entire country, Weather Forecast Center Director Lu Kuo-chen (呂國臣) said.
A land warning is expected to be issued this morning, he added.
Haikui is likely to slow down as it moves across the Taiwan Strait, which would result in Taiwan being affected by the typhoon for a longer period, Lu said.
Ferry services across Taiwan are subject to change or might be canceled for three days from yesterday to tomorrow, as Haikui approaches, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday.
Many activities at the secondary pavilions of the 2023 Hakka Expo in Taoyuan have been suspended, including a market at the International Indigenous Cultural and Creative Industrial Park today and tomorrow as the canopy frame was destroyed by strong winds.
The market has stopped operating since Wednesday because of Typhoon Saola, information on the event’s Web site says.
The Hsinchu City International Kite Festival, which was to be held today and tomorrow, has been postponed for one week and is to take place on Saturday and Sunday next week, the organizer said on Facebook.
Dozens of domestic flights in Taiwan, as well as flights to Hong Kong and Macau, between yesterday and tomorrow have also been canceled due to the typhoon.
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
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