The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow.
As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data.
The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added.
The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said.
CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said that according to current data forecasts, the typhoon’s center is expected to make landfall in Taiwan between Wednesday evening and early morning on Thursday.
The exact location of landfall requires further observation, he said, adding the central and southern regions have a higher probability, but areas like Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli County cannot be ruled out.
Photo: AP
Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said Fung-wong might weaken as it approaches Taiwan. Still, its interaction with the northeast seasonal winds could produce potentially disastrous levels of rainfall in northern and eastern Taiwan this week.
Meanwhile, Fung-wong battered the Philippines’ northeastern coast ahead of landfall yesterday, leaving at least two people dead and forcing more than a million people to evacuate from areas at high risk of flash floods, landslide and tidal surges, officials said.
It approached from the Pacific while the Philippines was still dealing with the devastation wrought by Typhoon Kalmaegi, which left at least 224 people dead in central provinces on Tuesday before pummeling Vietnam, where at least five were killed.
A villager drowned in flash floods in the Philippine province of Catanduanes and another died in Catbalogan city in eastern Samar province when she was pinned by debris, officials said.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr declared a state of emergency due to the extensive devastation caused by Kalmaegi and the expected calamity from Fung-wong, while Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro urged residents in the storm’s path to heed evacuation orders, warning that refusing to comply was dangerous and unlawful.
More than 1 million people were moved away from high-risk villages in northeastern provinces, including in Bicol, a coastal region vulnerable to Pacific cyclones and mudflows from Mayon, one of the country’s most active volcanoes.
More than 30 million people could be exposed to hazards posed by Fung-wong in the country, the Philippine Office of Civil Defense said.
Additional reporting by AP and Reuters
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