Officials said no casualties or major damage have been reported as a result of Typhoon Haiyan and its threat to Taiwan has declined because of a change in its direction. Weather forecasters still warned residents in the north and northeast of downpours through today.
The Central Weather Bureau said the storm, moved by a high pressure front, was traveling further north from its anticipated path and away from the country.
As of 8:10pm yesterday, Haiyan was located about 360km east-northeast off of Ilan, packing maximum sustained winds of 130kph and gusts up to 165kph. It was moving northeasterly at 19kph to 23kph.
Lin Hsiu-wen (林秀雯), section chief of the bureau's weather forecast center, said Haiyan would continue to move northeasterly, taking it away from Taiwan with diminishing impact as a result of the high pressure.
Haiyan was forecast to be located at 340km north-northeast off the coast of Naha, Okinawa by 8:00pm today.
The bureau had lifted its earlier land warning by 5:00pm yesterday.
Lin said the effects of the typhoon would be gone by this evening.
Lin warned, however, that northern and northeastern areas of Taiwan should be prepared for torrential rains from the typhoon's surrounding current and seasonal winds from the northeast.
Lin said that the typhoon might soon weaken into a tropical storm.
No major damages or casualties have been reported so far in the wake of the storm.
Operation of the North Link and the Hualien Taitung Line of the country's railway networks was suspended yesterday morning. The service resumed operations in the afternoon as the storm veered to the north, lessening its impact on the nation.
International and domestic flights remained in service yesterday with the exception of a flight from Hualien to Taipei which was cancelled early yesterday morning.
Over 3,100 Chinese fishermen took shelter at Taiwan's harbors as the typhoon moved through, officials said.
Haiyan is the 21st typhoon of the year and the 9th that has hit Taiwan.
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