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
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
COUNTERMEASURE: Taiwan was to implement controls for 47 tech products bound for South Africa after the latter downgraded and renamed Taipei’s ‘de facto’ offices The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still reviewing a new agreement proposed by the South African government last month to regulate the status of reciprocal representative offices, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. Asked about the latest developments in a year-long controversy over Taiwan’s de facto representative office in South Africa, Lin during a legislative session said that the ministry was consulting with legal experts on the proposed new agreement. While the new proposal offers Taiwan greater flexibility, the ministry does not find it acceptable, Lin said without elaborating. The ministry is still open to resuming retaliatory measures against South