Powerful downpours and strong winds lashed the nation yesterday, flooding urban centers in the north and threatening to cause landslides in central mountainous areas, even as the Central Weather Bureau issued a new typhoon warning.
The deluge, the heaviest since Typhoon Nari three years ago, claimed one life and left hundreds stranded at press time yesterday.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Houses in Nangang District in Taipei and adjacent Hsichih in Taipei County were swallowed up by muddy water. Sanchung in Taipei County was again hard hit by flooding. People waded across roads in chest-high water in front of their shops and low-rise apartments. Cars plowed through streets in a desperate effort to reach higher ground.
Nangang was drenched with 787mm of rain within 12 hours, with that figure expected to increase today, the Central Weather Bureau said.
Taoyuan and Keelung also saw more than 400mm of rain yesterday. The bureau had issued a torrential rain and strong wind warning on Friday, advising residents in mountainous and low-lying areas to evacuate to escape possible mudslides and flooding.
The National Disaster Prevention and Relief Center said that more than 200 people are sheltering in five shelter stations. In Hsinchu County's Wufeng Township, which is still reeling from a landslide tragedy during Typhoon Aere last month, 85 people from the indigenous Maopu community were evacuated to Wufeng Elementary School. Forty-seven villagers in Ta'ai village were also relocated to Wufeng's health bureau for their safety.
A total of 377,594 households suffered power losses yesterday. Electricity has been restored to almost all of them, the National Disaster Prevention and Relief Center said.
Trains between Taipei, Keelung and Toucheng in Ilan County were canceled yesterday. Airports in Pingtung City and Hengchun were also closed yesterday, as were airports at Chimei and Wangan in Penghu County.
To ease flooding in Taipei City, Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday morning ordered the Water Res-ources Agency to open the Yuanshanzai flood-diversion sluice ahead of schedule to ease the burden placed on the Keelung River. The level of the river had reached an alarming height downstream because of the incessant rain on Friday night. Since then, the level of the river has fallen slightly.
The weekend-long downpour may change into sporadic but strong showers in the north, though the unstable weather system could still dump rain on central and southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Bureau said.
With Typhoon Haima and a tropical depression hovering nearby, and Typhoon Songda's airstreams lingering, another wave of torrential rain could hit anywhere in the country early next week, said Wu Te-jung (吳德榮), vice director of the bureau's forecast center.
"From Monday, the rain across the island will slowly subside into regional showers. But the process will only be gradual, depending on how the high-pressure system in the Western Pacific develops in the next few days," Wu told the Taipei Times.
"But sudden showers could still trigger flash mudslides and flooding. The whole island will be on a heavy rain alert in the next few days. Everyone should brace for further activity," he said.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
RSS