The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast.
As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph.
It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said.
A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said.
Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work for today.
The typhoon was strengthening faster than expected and is projected to reach the upper limit of a moderate typhoon by this morning, CWA forecaster Chu Mei-lin (朱美霖) said.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
Heavy rainfall is expected today across Taipei and New Taipei City, and Yilan and Hualien counties as the typhoon approaches, becoming stronger in the evening, Chu said.
The storm is expected to reach the nation’s southeastern waters tomorrow, with the center making landfall along Hualien and Taitung counties and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) in the afternoon, she said.
It might enter the Taiwan Strait late tomorrow night or on Friday morning, depending on how it transforms after crossing the Central Mountain Range, Chu added.
From tomorrow to Friday morning, torrential rainfall or extreme torrential rainfall is expected in eastern Taiwan, and heavy rainfall is expected in northern, southern and central areas, CWA Forecast Center Director Lin Po-tung (林伯東) told a news conference.
Heavy rainfall is expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan through Friday, while rainfall in the north and east is expected to gradually lessen, Lin said.
Influenced by the typhoon’s outer winds, Penghu County, Lanyu and Green Island are likely to experience gusts with a force reaching level 11 and 12 today, he said.
Gusts of about level 11 are expected along the west coast from Miaoli to Yunlin counties, and stronger gusts are expected in eastern Taiwan and Kinmen County, along with large waves, he added.
Some train, ferry services and events in eastern Taiwan have been suspended or rescheduled.
Ferries from Donggang (東港) and Yanpu (鹽埔) ports to Siaoliouciou Island (小琉球) are suspended from tomorrow to Friday.
Taiwan Railway Corp said that it has canceled its presidential train that was scheduled to run between Taitung and Hualien County’s Ruisui Station on Sunday.
Rock band Mayday postponed concerts scheduled from Friday to Sunday in Kaohsiung and Hualien.
Additional reporting by CNA
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
RSS