Thirty-three people were injured and one was missing within three hours after Typhoon Podul made landfall in Taitung County, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday.
The typhoon made landfall in Taitung’s Taimali Township (太麻里) at 1pm and departed Taiwan proper at 4pm via Tainan’s Cigu District (七股).
As of 2pm yesterday, 33 people had sustained injuries, 13 of whom were in Kaohsiung and Taitung County.
Photo: CNA
A 28-year-old man surnamed Lin (林) was reported missing after being swept away by waves while fishing with his friend in Budai Township (布袋), Chiayi County, the center said.
More than 13,000 households lost electricity nationwide, with 58,000 awaiting restoration by 3pm, it said.
Sixty-four shelters were opened in Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, accommodating 905 people, the center said.
Photo:CNA
Meanwhile, 49 passenger flights and 15 cargo flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport were canceled due to the typhoon, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said.
By 3:19pm, strong crosswinds at the airport caused 26 inbound flights to divert to other airports, the airport operator said.
Taiwan Railway Corp yesterday canceled all eastbound trains to Taitung, as well as all trains operating on the South Link Railway until today. All trains operating after 3pm yesterday between Chiayi County and Pingtung County’s Fangliao Township (枋寮) were canceled as well.
Photo courtesy of the ROC Army
Starting at 2pm yesterday, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp dispatched three trains with only non-reserved seats every hour.
Both railway systems are expected to resume normal operations today.
Except flights to Kinmen County, which would still be under the influence of Podul this morning, international and domestic flights would return to normal as well.
Podul’s relatively rapid movement across the east and south of Taiwan spared several cities from serious harm, particularly those that are still recovering from the flooding damage triggered by Typhoon Danas and the southwest monsoon.
As of 7pm yesterday, Typhoon Podul’s center was 50km southwest of Penghu County. It was moving northwest at a speed of 34kph. It was forecast to be about 580km southwest of Kinmen at 5pm today.
The typhoon slightly weakened after its structure was damaged by Taiwan’s topography, Central Weather Administration forecaster Chu Mei-lin (朱美霖) said.
Podul was forecast to pass through waters near Penghu last night and make landfall in China through southern coastal areas near Kinmen before dawn today, maintaining the strength of a typhoon before gradually weakening to a tropical storm, Chu said.
Taiwan and Penghu were also forecast to gradually exit the storm’s radius of strong winds, Chu said, adding that both sea and land typhoon warnings are likely to be lifted early this morning.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
RSS