Tropical Storm Wipha intensified slightly yesterday as it passed closest to Taiwan, dumping more than 200mm of rain in Hualien and Taitung counties, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
As of 11am, Wipha was about 210km southwest of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and was moving west-northwest at 27km per hour (kph).
The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 101kph and gusts reaching 126kph, with a 150km radius of strong winds, CWA data showed.
Photo courtesy of a reader via CNA
Wipha’s outer rainbands began sweeping across Taiwan early yesterday, delivering steady rainfall in the east and scattered showers in other regions, forecasters said.
More heavy rain was expected, especially in the eastern mountains, where precipitation could exceed 350mm within 24 hours or 200mm in three hours, the CWA said.
Torrential rain was also forecast in low-lying areas of Hualien and Taitung, and in mountainous regions of Yilan, Nantou, Pingtung and Kaohsiung.
A strong wind advisory remained in effect across much of Taiwan throughout yesterday, with parts of Greater Taipei likely to see stronger bursts, it said.
The storm was also generating long swells and rough seas, the CWA said, adding that waves could reach 5m off the southeast coast and gradually rise to 3m to 4m in waters off the northern coast.
In related news, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said Tropical Storm Wipha disrupted transportation across Taiwan yesterday, forcing the cancelation of more than 100 ferry services and several domestic flights.
The ministry said 114 ferry services on 14 routes were suspended due to rough seas and strong winds brought by the storm’s outer bands.
Ferry services were canceled for routes such as Donggang-Xiaoliuqiu (東港-小琉球) in the south, Keelung-Matsu (基隆-馬祖) in the north, Green Island (綠島) and Orchid Island (蘭嶼) in the southeast, and Kinmen and China’s Fujian Province.
Eight domestic flights were canceled by 10am yesterday, although all international and cross-strait flights remained on schedule, the ministry said.
The CWA lifted its sea warning for Tropical Storm Wipha at 5:30 pm Saturday, as the weather system moved away from Taiwan.
While the severe tropical storm is moving away from Taiwan, the country remains under warnings for strong winds and heavy rains from Wipha’s outer bands, as it continues to strengthen, the administration indicated.
The CWA has forecast that the storm will draw close to Hong Kong early this morning.
Amid those conditions and forecasts, China Airlines (CAL) yesterday canceled its CI607 flight from Taoyuan International Airport to Hong Kong International Airport.
CAL also announced that all flights from Taoyuan and Kaohsiung bound for Hong Kong or Shenzhen Baoan International Airport in China today have been canceled. The Taiwanese airline also canceled flight CI922 from Hong Kong to Taoyuan tomorrow.
Taiwan’s other major carrier, EVA Airways, announced that all its flights yesterday afternoon and today from Kaohsiung to and from Hong Kong and Macau have been canceled.
All of EVA Air’s flights today between Taoyuan and Hong Kong and Macau have also been canceled.
Starlux Airlines made a similar announcement, canceling all of its Taiwan-Hong Kong and Taiwan-Macau flights today.
They include flights JX233, 234, 235, and 236 between Taiwan and Hong Kong; JX201, 202, 205, and 206 between Taiwan and Macau; and flights JX331 and 332 between Taichung and Macau, the Taiwanese airline said.
Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific Airways said that all of its flights between Taiwan and Hong Kong that were scheduled to operate between 5am and 6pm today will either be canceled or delayed.
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
Aftershocks from a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck off Yilan County at 3:45pm yesterday could reach a magnitude of 5 to 5.5, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Seismological Center technical officer Chiu Chun-ta (邱俊達) told a news conference that the epicenter of the temblor was more than 100km from Taiwan. Although predicted to measure between magnitude 5 and 5.5, the aftershocks would reach an intensity of 1 on Taiwan’s 7-tier scale, which gauges the actual effect of an earthquake, he said. The earthquake lasted longer in Taipei because the city is in a basin, he said. The quake’s epicenter was about 128.9km east-southeast
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
STAY VIGILANT: People should reduce the risk of chronic liver inflammation by avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and eating pickled foods, the physician said A doctor last week urged people to look for five key warning signs of acute liver failure after popular producer-turned-entertainer Shen Yu-lin (沈玉琳) was reportedly admitted to an intensive care unit for fulminant hepatitis. Fulminant hepatitis is the rapid and massive death of liver cells, impairing the organ’s detoxification, metabolic, protein synthesis and bile production functions, which if left untreated has a mortality rate as high as 80 percent, according to the Web site of Advancing Clinical Treatment of Liver Disease, an international organization focused on liver disease prevention and treatment. People with hepatitis B or C are at higher risk of
RSS