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
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS