A tropical depression east of China’s Hainan Province is poised to strengthen into the second tropical storm of this year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday.
The storm, which could be upgraded into a tropical storm before noon today, would be named Maliksi, meaning “brisk” in Filipino.
As of 2pm, the tropical depression was moving northwest at 12kph, CWA data showed.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
The moisture the storm carries is likely to move east and merge with a weather front that is closing in on Taiwan, bringing rain over the weekend, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said.
Tropical Storm Ewiniar is also nearby, although it would not affect Taiwan, the CWA said.
Meanwhile, the nation was struck by two earthquakes off the east coast yesterday morning, which measured above 5 on the Richter scale.
No injuries or damage were reported as of press time.
The larger of the two earthquakes — magnitude 5.3 — occurred at 9:11am, with the epicenter 22.8km northeast of Hualien County Hall at a depth of 17.9km.
Its intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, was level 4 in Hualien County, Nantou County and Taichung, CWA data showed.
At 7:54am, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 12.7km east of Hualien County Hall at a depth of 17.1km. The intensity in Hualien County reached level 4.
CWA Seismological Center division chief Liao Che-wei (廖哲緯) told a news conference that the two earthquakes were all aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.2 on the Richter scale.
Liao said that the scale and number of aftershocks has slowed significantly since the main quake, but sporadic tremors with a magnitude of 5 or above might still occur.
The CWA issued a presidential alert to residents in Hualien County for the magnitude 5.1 earthquake, and another alert to those in Yilan and Hualien counties for the magnitude 5.3 earthquake, Liao said.
The rupture zone from the Hualien earthquake on April 3 is about 70km long from south to north, Liao said.
Additional reporting by CNA
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
RSS