Typhoon Podul is expected to make landfall near Taitung at about noon today and cut through southern Taiwan before moving into the Taiwan Strait in the late afternoon or evening, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said this morning.
Hualien and Taitung counties in eastern Taiwan and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) in the southernmost part of the main island were already experiencing stronger winds and heavier rain this morning.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
The CWA warned areas south of Chiayi County of similar conditions in the afternoon.
Photo: Liu Jen-wei, Taipei Times
Podul (the 11th typhoon of the season) has slightly intensified, with its center located over waters east-southeast of Taitung and moving west-northwest, the agency said.
The storm's radius reached land in Hualien, Taitung and the Hengchun Peninsula by 6am, the CWA said.
As of 10am, its eye was 90km southeast of Taitung, and moving west-northwest at 32kph, CWA data showed.
It was carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of 155kph, with gusts of up to 191kph.
CWA forecaster Liu Yu-chi (劉宇其) said the typhoon's center is expected to make landfall near Taitung at about noon, before moving out to sea from southern Taiwan in the afternoon or evening, and hitting coastal areas in southern China by early tomorrow morning.
The storm would be at its peak during the day today, with eastern Taiwan, Chiayi and areas to the south, and Penghu County seeing the most significant effects, including heavy rain or localized torrential rain, the CWA said.
Hualien, Taitung and mountainous areas in the south have a high likelihood of rainfall reaching extreme heavy rain levels (24-hour accumulated rainfall exceeding 200mm, or three-hour accumulated rainfall exceeding 100mm) or above.
Highs of 27°C to 30°C are forecast for Chiayi and areas to its south and eastern Taiwan, while areas between Miaoli County and Changhua County should see highs of 36°C, and the rest of the main island should expect highs of 32°C to 33°C, the CWA said.
Due to the typhoon and its outer bands, the CWA said parts of Taitung — including Green Island (綠島) and Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) — have experienced gusts of 150kph, and even stronger gust can be expected in those areas later in the day.
Hualien, Taitung and the Hengchun Peninsula may see gusts of 103kph or higher, while Penghu may see sustained winds of 103kph or gusts of 118kph or higher.
Meanwhile, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) said the high-speed rail would run normally until 2pm, and then switch to three all-stop, non-reserved seat trains (excluding business class cars) every hour as Typhoon Podul approaches.
The revised schedule is to begin at 2pm, with trains departing each hour from Nangang Station (southbound) in Taipei and Zuoying Station (northbound) in Kaohsiung on the hour and at 20 and 40 minutes past the hour from each terminus, THSRC said in a statement.
The adjustment was made based on the latest weather information early this morning and an overall assessment of train operation safety, it said.
The schedule changes mean that the last trains today are to depart from Nangang Station at 9:40pm to Zuoying, and 10:40pm to Taichung; and from Zuoying Station at 9:40pm to Nangang, and 10:40pm to Taichung, it said.
Passengers with tickets during the period from when the sea typhoon warning was issued — yesterday, in Podul's case — to when it is canceled can request a full refund without service fees within one year from the travel date at any THSRC station.
This applies whether the trains operated normally, but were not boarded, or were rescheduled or canceled during that period.
Passengers holding tickets for affected services who switch to a lower-fare class may claim the fare difference at station ticket counters within one year from the travel date.
THSRC also said that to ensure operational safety during the typhoon, trains would operate at reduced speeds if wind speeds or rainfall in a particular section of the rail line exceed safety limits.
In the event of delays caused by these safety measures, which are considered natural factors, the delay compensation policy would not apply, the company said.
It advised passengers to allow extra time for transfers and connections to ensure smooth subsequent travel.
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