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
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
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better
RSS