Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds.
Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation.
As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km.
As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said.
The 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree while riding a scooter in Kaohsiung, the center said.
As of 2pm yesterday, 4,018 people in New Taipei City, and 10 counties, including Yilan, Hualien, and Nantou, had been evacuated as a preventive measure, it said.
As of 2:30pm, 962 natural disaster reports had been recorded, 458 of which were related to fallen trees, it said.
Meanwhile, 163 infrastructure damage reports, 76 building damage reports and 68 billboard damage reports were filed, the center said, adding that of the building damage reports, 37 were filed in Kaohsiung.
Photo: Carols Garcia Rawlins, Reuters
A total of 11,682 households in Tainan, and Yilan and Miaoli counties had reported power outages, the center said.
Between last night and this morning, a landslide alert was issued for mountainous areas in Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, New Taipei City, and Yilan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Nantou, Chiayi and Pingtung counties.
Taiwan would face severe challenges over the next 24 hours, as Gaemi would bring strong winds and torrential rainfall, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said in a meeting at the center as he and President William Lai (賴清德) listened to briefings from government officials.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
“All government agencies must be on high alert for the next 24 hours, as the CWA could upgrade the estimated rainfall and wind speeds,” Cho said.
Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳), who serves as commander-in-chief of the center, urged people to prepare three days of food and water and refrain from engaging in outdoor activities.
“We expect that the impact of the typhoon to extend to four days [until Friday],” CWA Administrator Cheng Jia-ping (程家平) said, adding that people would need to “take precautions against heavy rain and strong wind.”
Photo: CNA
The typhoon is expected to pass through the Taiwan Strait and hit China’s eastern Zhejiang and Fujian provinces today.
Gaemi disrupted the operations of the two large train systems in the nation, causing Taiwan Railway Corp and Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (台灣高鐵) to cancel services departing after 12pm yesterday.
All domestic flights would be canceled today, while 185 outgoing international flights from Taoyuan, Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung would be canceled, the Civil Aviation Administration said.
Eleven international flights would be delayed, it said, adding that travelers are urged to contact airlines to check on the status of their flights.
In northeastern Yilan County, massive waves crashed against the shore, while market vendors worked quickly to protect their stalls with canvas and shops taped up their glass windows. The harbor was crowded with docked vessels.
In Taipei, government offices were closed and streets were empty, while some stores sandbagged their entrances to prevent flooding.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it would maintain normal production, but it had “activated routine typhoon alert preparation procedures” at all of its fabs.
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday announced the cancelation of the fourth day of its annual Wanan air defense exercise, originally scheduled to be held in southern Taiwan today.
The weather also forced cancelation of part of the nation’s annual Han Kuang military exercises, but an anti-landing drill went ahead as scheduled yesterday morning in outlying Penghu County.
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