A yellow alert for severe landslides and 53 yellow alerts for rockfalls were issued in New Taipei City this afternoon, as heavy rains are expected to continue overnight, the Agency of Rural Development and Soil and Water Conservation said.
The rockfall alerts cover eight districts and 31 townships, including Sindian (新店) and Rueifang (瑞芳) districts, with a yellow alert for landslides issued for Sijhih District’s (汐止) Dongshan Village (東山), it said.
The New Taipei City Government has been instructed to carry out necessary preparations, including precautionary evacuations, it added.
Photo: CNA
Mountainous areas of Sijhih, Sansia (三峽) and Sindian districts may graduate to red alerts for landslides this evening, the agency said.
The effects of seasonal northeasterly winds and the outer bands of Tropical Storm Fengshen brought torrential and extremely heavy rain to northern Taiwan today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, after it issued an extremely heavy rain advisory for Taipei and New Taipei City, effective through tomorrow night.
About 300mm to 490mm of rain is expected to fall over northern Taiwan in the next 24 hours, the weather agency said in its 12pm forecast.
Over the next three days, mountainous areas of Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan and Yilan County could see upwards of 1m of rain, it said.
As for low-lying areas, New Taipei City is to see the most rainfall over the same period at 700m to 1m, while Keelung and Yilan are expected to see 500mm to 800mm, and Taipei and Taoyuan are to see 400mm to 600mm.
Meanwhile, the New Taipei City and Taipei governments issued a number of flood prevention and traffic control measures across the cities.
From 5pm today, evacuation gates and levee crossings in Taipei’s Zhongshan (中山), Songshan (松山), Shilin (士林), Wanhua (萬華) and Datong (大同) districts are to implement “exit only, no entry” traffic control measures.
Temporary parking would be allowed along red and yellow lines on roads at least 8m wide near evacuation gates, and on-street parking fees would be suspended.
In New Taipei City, four parking lots on the left bank of the Dahan River (大漢溪) floodplain are also to implement “exit only, no entry” measures, the New Taipei City Transportation Department said.
Parking would also be allowed on certain roadside areas marked with yellow and red lines, and on-street parking fees would be waived until the parking lots reopen.
Vehicle owners are urged to leave communication information visible from inside parked cars and refrain from double-parking, blocking emergency vehicle access or parking at intersections, bus stops, fire hydrants, sidewalks or any area that may obstruct traffic, the department said.
The Chongsin Levee Outer Road (重新堤外道) from under Chongsin Bridge is to also close at midnight tonight, with parking along the levee to allow only exiting traffic from 7pm and levee crossings to switch to exit-only access from 9pm, the department said.
Drivers with vehicles parked in floodplains are urged to move cars as soon as possible and use Huanhan Road (環漢路) as an alternative route, it added.
Residents are advised to check their respective transportation department’s Web site for the latest updates.
Four flights were diverted from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Kaohsiung International Airport between last night and 11am today due to the weather, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said.
The airport operator advised travelers to check the status of their flight before departing with their airline or on the Taoyuan airport Web site.
Additional reporting by Kayleigh Madjar and CNA
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS