The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) yesterday lifted a sea warning as Typhoon In-Fa moved away from Taiwan, but warned that the storm could still bring heavy rain to the nation.
At 11:30am yesterday, the bureau lifted a sea warning, which was imposed on Wednesday night, but southwesterly wind from the storm is expected to continue to bring heavy rain, it said.
As of 8am, In-Fa was about 350km east of Taipei and moving northeast at 15kph, it said.
Photo: CNA
The typhoon had maximum sustained winds of 155kph, with gusts of up to 191kph, CWB data showed.
A torrential rain advisory has been issued for New Taipei City, Taoyuan, and Hsinchu and Miaoli counties, where rainfall over a 24-hour period is likely to exceed 350mm, the bureau said, adding that mountainous areas of Taoyuan and Hsinchu could see the strongest precipitation.
An extremely heavy rain warning is in effect for Keelung, Taipei, Taichung and Yilan County, while a heavy rain warning has been issued for Hsinchu City, and Chiayi, Nantou and Yunlin counties.
The CWB defines extremely heavy rain as accumulated rainfall of 200mm or more within 24 hours, and heavy rain as accumulated rainfall of 80mm or more within 24 hours, or 40mm or more in an hour.
Daniel Wu (吳德榮), a meteorologist and adjunct associate professor of atmospheric sciences at National Central University, said that although In-Fa has been moving away from Taiwan, the southwesterly winds from the storm could cause disastrous rainfall.
To avoid possible damage or injuries, the Directorate-General of Highways has closed parts of Provincial Highway No. 7, which connects Taoyuan and Yilan.
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