Authorities are preparing for torrential rain and strong winds as Typhoon Conson gains momentum, officials said yesterday.
The typhoon was last night upgraded to a medium-strength typhoon by the Central Weather Bureau.
PHOTO: LEE LI-FA, TAIPEI TIMES
At 10pm last night, the storm's center was 220km south-southwest of Oluanpi, the southernmost tip of Taiwan, the bureau said. The typhoon is predicted to make landfall at 8pm tonight.
Packing gusts of up to 155kph, Conson was moving north-northeast at 11kph.
The bureau warned of heavy downpours in southern areas, urging residents to take precautions against flooding and landslides.
At press time, the typhoon was likely to traverse Taiwan, possibly leaving land in the northwestern counties of Taoyuan or Hsinchu.
The Ministry of National Defense said the military has set up a control center and ordered its personnel to stand by for rescue duties.
The bureau issued a land warning at around noon yesterday. The warning closed down the popular Kenting beaches in southern Pingtung County, which is expected to bear the brunt of the storm, while fishing boats have sought shelter at ports.
Meanwhile, water management officials yesterday expressed anger at the theft of at least 68 sluice gates across the country, saying the thefts could wreak unnecessary damage upon areas already threatened by the typhoon.
Yesterday, while making preparations for the storm, an astonished Water Conservancy Department discovered that 68 smaller sluice gates were missing.
"We have reinstalled 42 of them so far, but reinstallation of 26 gates in Taichung and Chiayi counties is not yet complete," an official said.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
STORM’S PATH: Kong-Rey could be the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November since Gilda in 1967. Taitung-Green Island ferry services have been halted Tropical Storm Kong-rey is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon early today and could make landfall in Taitung County between late Thursday and early Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Kong-Rey was 1,030km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point, and was moving west at 7kph. The tropical storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, CWA data showed. After landing in Taitung, the eye of the storm is forecast to move into the Taiwan Strait through central Taiwan on Friday morning, the agency said. With the storm moving
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
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