More than 20 domestic flights and dozens of ferry services to the nation’s outlying islands were canceled yesterday due to Typhoon Koinu, which could make landfall in southern Taiwan tomorrow.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday morning issued a land alert for the typhoon, after issuing a sea alert for it on Monday night.
As of 8:30pm yesterday, the typhoon was centered 390km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), moving west at 12kph, the agency said, adding that it had maximum winds of 155kph, with the storm’s average radius expanding to 250km.
The land alert applied to Kaohsiung, Tainan, Chiayi County, Nantou County, Hualien County, Taitung County, Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), while the sea alert applied to vessels operating off the east coast, in the Bashi Channel and in the Taiwan Strait, it said.
Based on the CWA’s forecast, the typhoon could make landfall on the east coast and sweep through the south before moving toward Hong Kong.
Twenty-two domestic flights and 33 ferry services to outlying islands had been canceled as of 6pm yesterday, the Civil Aeronautics Administration and Maritime and Port Bureau said.
Although no international flights were affected yesterday, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (桃園國際機場公司) said that it is on alert, as flights to Kaohsiung International Airport and Hong Kong International Airport could be diverted to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport due to heavy rain and wind brought by the typhoon.
“We would regulate flights arriving at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport when the nation is under the influence of the typhoon to maximize available aircraft parking spaces on the tarmac, and to maintain the safety and efficiency of the airport. This would also enable us to timely respond to emergency situations in the Taipei Flight Information Region,” the airport operator said.
EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) yesterday announced that all flights to and from Kaohsiung would be canceled today and tomorrow.
Tigerair Taiwan Ltd (台灣虎航) said that round-trip flights between Kaohsiung and Gimpo International Airport in South Korea and those between Kaohsiung and Chubu Centrair International Airport in Japan today are canceled.
The high-speed rail system would continue normal operation today, but the operator said that the system might reduce speeds when wind and rain exceed safety standards.
Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (臺北大眾捷運) said it could suspend operations of the MRT system, Maokong Gondola and Taipei Children’s Amusement Park if the typhoon generates level 10 gusts on the Beaufort scale.
Ferry services to Penghu, Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼), Green Island (綠島) and Siaoliouciou Island (小琉球) are canceled today and tomorrow.
Several tourist attractions, such as Alishan, would be closed to visitors today.
Meanwhile, a funeral for firefighters who died in a blaze at a Launch Technologies Co (明揚國際) factory in Pingtung County would be postponed until Friday.
Voluntarily enlisted military officers are asked to report for training in Taitung on Wednesday next week, instead of tomorrow, the Ministry of National Defense said.
The National Bunun Tribe Ear Shooting Festival and Traditional Skills Competition in Taitung was postponed, rescheduled to Thursday to Saturday next week, while the Kanakanavu Tribe Rice Festival in Kaohsiung was postponed until Sunday next week.
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
STRAIT OF HORMUZ: In the case of a prolonged blockade by Iran, Taiwan would look to sources of LNG outside the Middle East, including Australia and the US Taiwan would not have to ration power due to a shortage of natural gas, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday, after reports that the Strait of Hormuz was closed amid the conflict in the Middle East. The government has secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies for this month and contingency measures are in place if the conflict extends into next month, Kung told lawmakers. Saying that 25 percent of Taiwan’s natural gas supplies are from Qatar, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) asked about the situation in light of the conflict. There would be “no problems” with
PLANE HIT: The Israeli military said it shot down an Iranian Air Force fighter over Tehran, while an Iranian warship sank off Sri Lanka, with no cause known The US and Israel yesterday hit Iran’s capital and other cities in multiple airstrikes on the fifth day of the war with Iran. Israel targeted the Iranian leadership and security forces, while the Islamic Republic responded with missile barrages and drone attacks on Israel, and across the region. Tehran residents woke to dawn blasts and Iranian state television showed the ruins of building in the center of the capital. The Shiite seminary city of Qom and multiple other cities were also targeted. With fighter jets roaring overhead, those still in Tehran looked anxiously to the skies. One man, who ran a clothing shop,
Taiwan pineapples are to be exported to the US for the first time later this year, after the US yesterday announced importation requirements, the Ministry of Agriculture said today. The US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service yesterday published a draft of requirements to import Taiwanese pineapples, with a 62-day comment period, the ministry said in a news release. The US maintains strict requirements for imported fresh fruit, it said. The ministry’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency applied to export pineapples to the US in 2020 and has since cooperated with the US to provide all the necessary information and reports, it
RSS