A land warning for Tropical Storm Danas was issued last night at 8:30pm, as the storm’s outer bands began bringing heavy rain to southeastern regions, including Hualien and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).
As of 9:15pm, the storm was approximately 330km west-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, moving north-northeast at 10-20kph, the CWA reported.
A sea warning had already been issued at 8:30am yesterday.
The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 83kph, with gusts of up to 108kph, according to the CWA.
As of 9:30pm last night, Kaohsiung, Tainan, and Pingtung and Chiayi counties had declared today a typhoon day.
CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said Danas was projected to move toward the southern Taiwan Strait, with its most significant impact expected today and tomorrow morning.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
Heavy rain alerts were in effect for the Hengchun Peninsula, with the CWA warning of short-duration downpours, thunderstorms and lightning.
Rain was forecast to move northward yesterday, reaching central and eastern Taiwan, as well as outlying islands such as Penghu and Kinmen counties.
Localized heavy rain was also expected in southern and southeastern Taiwan, while northern regions might experience afternoon thunderstorms.
Photo: Liu Yu-chieh, Taipei Times
Although Danas was not expected to intensify into a typhoon, Wu said that its outer circulation could still bring strong winds and heavy rainfall, particularly to areas near the storm’s center, such as Penghu.
The CWA also issued warnings for large waves along Taiwan’s southern and southeastern coasts, including Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島), the Hengchun Peninsula, and Penghu County. The public is urged to stay away from coastal areas due to dangerous surf conditions.
As Danas approached with increasing intensity, the nation yesterday began precautionary closures of mountain parks, coastal areas and some transportation services.
In its first emergency meeting, the Central Emergency Operation Center said several national forest recreation areas had been closed in advance, including the Kenting (墾丁) and Shuangliu (雙流) recreation areas, while Tengjhih (藤枝) and Fuyuan (富源) remain shut due to previous weather damage.
Forest parks, including Hehuanshan (合歡山), Basianshan (八仙山) and Aowanda (奧萬大), are also to close from today.
Some rail services have also been suspended, including the Alishan Forest Railway, the Taipingshan sightseeing train (from 5pm yesterday), and the Wulai trolley (from 8am today).
The Fushan Botanical Garden in Yilan County would be closed as a precaution today and tomorrow.
The Highway Bureau said temporary closures could be implemented on sections of provincial highways Nos. 9, 18, 20 and 29, depending on evolving weather conditions.
Several ferry operators and local airlines yesterday also announced the suspension of services over the weekend as the storm approached Taiwan.
On international flights, Tigerair Taiwan yesterday announced a number of flight changes that mostly involved moving up flight schedules for today.
The budget airline said its IT288 flight from Kaohsiung to Okinawa would take off at 8:15am today instead of the original 1pm departure, while the return IT289 flight would depart at 12pm instead of 2pm.
The company’s Kaohsiung to Macau flight IT321 would depart at 1:05pm, while the IT372 Macau to Taichung flight would leave at 3:50pm.
Additionally, the Kaohsiung to Tokyo flight IT280 is to take off at 7:05am and the return IT281 flight would depart at 12:30pm.
Tigerair Taiwan said the revised schedule is still subject to change depending on weather conditions and the policies of the respective airports.
China Airlines announced yesterday evening that the following flights scheduled for today have been canceled: Kaohsiung-Tokyo Narita CI126/CI127, Kaohsiung- Bangkok CI839/CI840, Kaohsiung-Osaka CI176/CI177, Kaohsiung-Okinawa CI132/CI133, Kaohsiung-Shanghai Pudong CI583/CI584, and Kaohsiung-Hong Kong CI935/CI936.
In addition, the Kaohsiung-Shenzhen CI585/CI586 flight has been rescheduled to depart earlier today, while flight CI165 from Seoul Incheon to Kaohsiung and flight CI103 from Tokyo Narita to Kaohsiung have been postponed to depart tomorrow.
The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said no changes have been made to today’s flight schedules of EVA Air and Starlux Airlines, but the carriers will continue to monitor the storm’s trajectory and hold meetings yesterday evening and this morning to coordinate any necessary changes.
According to the CAA, Uni Air and Mandarin Airlines -- the two main carriers operating domestic routes between Taiwan proper and outlying islands such as Kinmen and Matsu -- have announced the cancellation of all domestic flights scheduled for today.
In terms of train service, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp announced that all train services will operate normally today, with each train departing according to schedule.
The company said that to ensure operational safety today, however, trains will reduce their speeds on certain sections if wind speeds or rainfall exceed operational safety limits.
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