Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today.
The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County.
As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed.
Photo: screen grab from the CWA Web site
With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained winds of 126kph and gusts of up to 162kph, the agency said.
It yesterday expanded land warnings to include 13 administrative areas from Miaoli County southward, as well as Taichung, Changhua and Nantou County in central Taiwan, and Hualien and Taitung counties in the east.
Forecasters said the storm strengthened slightly through the day yesterday and was rapidly approaching Taiwan’s southeastern coast.
Photo: Huang Meng-ching, Taipei Times
Podul is expected to pass near Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) before dawn, with its outer bands possibly reaching Taiwan proper early this morning.
Landfall is forecast near midday in Taitung, with the typhoon leaving near Tainan in the evening, the CWA said.
The storm would later impact Penghu and Kinmen counties today and tomorrow before heading toward southern China, the agency said, adding that warnings are expected to be lifted by tomorrow.
Winds are expected to increase overnight, especially in eastern Taiwan and on outlying islands, while scattered showers are expected over northern and northeastern Taiwan.
The heaviest rainfall is forecast for this afternoon through the evening, spreading from eastern Taiwan to southern regions including Chiayi and further south.
Coastal and offshore waters could see waves rise above 4m, reaching more than 6m on the eastern coast by today, the CWA said, urging residents in low-lying coastal areas to remain vigilant against seawater flooding.
CWA weather forecaster Liu Yu-chi (劉宇其) said that Podul was already affecting waters off eastern Taiwan, the Bashi Channel and the southern part of the Taiwan Strait, and is expected to intensify slightly and expand its radius.
As much as 600mm of rain is forecast in southern mountainous areas over the next few days, the agency said.
All domestic flights are canceled today.
Authorities were scrambling to evacuate hundreds on the southeastern coast, while nearby areas are still recovering from floods and record winds brought by previous storms this summer.
In Hualien County, nearly 700 people were to be evacuated from their homes to guard against the risk of overflow from a natural dam formed after a landslide caused by a previous typhoon.
“We especially urge people living downstream to follow government instructions and evacuate,” said Chu Chung-jui, a National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction official.
“Authorities are closely monitoring this landslide lake,” he told a news conference in Taipei about the typhoon task force.
Authorities in southern Taiwan were also working to evacuate those whose homes were damaged last month by Typhoon Danas, which brought record winds and damaged the electricity grid in a rare direct hit to the west coast.
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