The Central Weather Bureau yesterday said it might lift a sea warning for Typhoon Muifa this afternoon, as it is expected to accelerate and move toward central China by tomorrow.
As of 8:30pm yesterday, Muifa was centered 250km east of Taipei. It was moving northwest at 10kph, packing sustained winds of 137kph with gusts of up to 173kph.
Muifa is forecast to be 320km northeast of Taipei by 8pm tonight.
Photo: Huang Mei-chu, Taipei Times
Bureau senior forecaster Liu Yu-chi (劉宇其) said that Muifa is moving away from Taiwan and heading toward the coast of central China.
Muifa’s center moved slightly to the east as it turned north, Liu said, adding that the bureau could lift the sea warning this afternoon if the typhoon continues to move along its projected path.
Although Muifa’s eye did not make a landfall on Taiwan proper, the typhoon’s circulation has brought substantial rainfall to northern and northeastern Taiwan, as well as mountainous areas in central and southern Taiwan, he said.
Between 12am Saturday and 8pm yesterday, New Taipei City’s Wulai District (烏來) had the highest accumulated rainfall of 485mm, bureau data showed.
Rainfall on Lalashan (拉拉山) in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興) reached 373.5mm, while Taipingshan (太平山) in Yilan County had 303mm, and Niaozuishan (鳥嘴山) in Hsinchu County had 279mm.
Heavy rain is expected in northern Taiwan until late afternoon, gradually easing later in the day as the typhoon moves north, Liu said.
Residents in northern and northeastern regions, as well as the mountainous areas in central and southern Taiwan, should prepare for extremely heavy rainfall, particularly those living in mountainous areas in Taoyuan, New Taipei City, and Yilan and Hsinchu counties.
Strong winds might continue over the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) and the coast of Keelung, which could reach level 8 to 9 on the Beaufort scale, Liu said.
Waves off the north and east coasts could be 3m high, while the west coast could receive waves 2m high, he said.
The weather should become stable tomorrow once Muifa is far enough away from Taiwan proper, Liu said.
Meanwhile, tropical storm Merbok formed yesterday and was about 4,130km east of Taipei, Liu said, adding that it is expected to move northeast and should not affect Taiwan.
Another tropical depression was detected yesterday about 1,800km east of Taiwan, which could be upgraded to a tropical storm, Nanmadol, within the next two days, he said, adding that it would be 1,000km away from Muifa and not interact with the typhoon.
Rain and wind brought by Typhoon Muifa disrupted some sea and air transportation services.
As of 6pm yesterday, 10 maritime passenger routes were suspended, including those to Lienchiang County, Green Island (綠島), Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Siaoliouciou (小琉球), the Maritime and Port Bureau said.
Six domestic flights and two international flights were canceled by 6pm, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said yesterday.
PACIFIC OCEAN: Defense experts have warned that the ‘Shandong,’ China’s second largest aircraft carrier, poses a serious threat to eastern Taiwan’s defenses The drills conducted by the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong in the Western Pacific last week were more aimed at showcasing China’s military capabilities to the US rather than toward Taiwan, a Taiwanese defense expert said yesterday. Lin Yin-yu (林穎佑), an assistant professor at Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies, said the drills which involved dozens of warplanes sought to test China’s anti-access and area denial capabilities should the US and its allies attempt to interfere in a cross-strait conflict. Lin said that the latest Chinese drills coincided with a joint maritime exercise conducted by the US, South Korea
Thousands of bottles of Sriracha have been returned or destroyed after the discovery of excessive sulfur dioxide, a bleaching agent, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Tuesday. About 12,600 bottles totaling 9,991.8kg of the hot sauce imported from the US by Emporium Corp (河洛企業) were flagged at the border for containing illegal levels of sulfur dioxide, the FDA said in its regular border inspection announcement. Inspectors discovered 0.5g per kilogram of the common bleaching agent and preservative, higher than the 0.03g permitted, it said. As it is the first time within six months the product has been flagged, Sriracha products from
Two people were killed and another nine injured yesterday after being stung by hornets while hiking in New Taipei City’s Rueifang District (瑞芳), with officials warning against wearing perfume or straying from trails during the autumn to avoid the potentially deadly creatures. Seven of the hikers only sustained minor injuries after being stung along the Bafenliao Hiking Trail (八分寮) and made their way down the mountain with a guide, the New Taipei City Fire Department said. Four of them — all male — sustained more serious injuries and were assisted when leaving the mountain, the department said. Two of them, a man surnamed
CHANGES: While NCCU opened the nation’s first co-ed dorm in Mucha, a recent survey showed that Taiwanese are in favor of abolishing gender segregation at high schools National Chengchi University (NCCU) has opened a co-ed dormitory, a first in Taiwan among state-funded Taiwan universities. The 22 duplexes are at the renovated “Huanan New Village,” in Taipei City’s Mucha (木柵) area, near the NCCU campus, a school official said yesterday. Twenty-two out of 37 group applications were selected in a lottery draw to select who would be chosen to live in the units, which can either be shared by up to eight students if the unit has four bedrooms, or up to 10 students if it is a five-bedroom unit, officials said. Completed in 1964 for campus staff housing,
RSS