Typhoon Kaemi was expected to make landfall in eastern Taiwan early this morning, pounding the east coast, Penghu and Kinmen counties and regions south of Hsinchu County with heavy winds and rains.
As of 9:15pm yesterday, the center of the fifth typhoon of the year was located 90km southeast of Taitung County. It was moving northwest at 16kph, with the radius of the storm reaching 200km, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).
Heavy rains are likely in Taitung and Hualien counties and the mountainous areas in central and southern Taiwan, the CWB said.
Rain and winds in the western part of the country are not expected to turn stronger until this morning, as the region is shielded by the central mountains.
CWB spokesman Lu Kuo-cheng (
The bureau alerted people to the danger of landslides, falling rocks, and swelling streams and rivers in the mountains caused by torrential rain.
A tour bus was hit by a falling rock in Taroko National Park yesterday, injuring five.
Tourists were evacuated yesterday from Green Island and Orchid Island.
Residents in Taitung were dismissed from work and classes as of 4pm yesterday, and Orchid Islanders also left work and classes yesterday afternoon.
But Keelung residents must attend school or work today, the Keelung City Government announced yesterday.
The weather bureau also warned people in low-lying areas of possible flooding caused by riptides.
Anyone who swims in the sea or gets too close to the waves during the typhoon will be fined up to NT$250,000 according to the Disaster Prevention and Rescue Law (
Domestic flights to and from Hualien and Taitung were canceled as of 3pm yesterday.
Far Eastern Air Transport also canceled its flights after 6pm yesterday between Taipei and Tainan, and between Taipei and Kaohsiung, while Mandarin Airlines canceled all flights after 3pm. Today's domestic flights on Uni Air have also been canceled.
Trains to Alishan have been canceled until the typhoon has passed, according to the Council of Agriculture (COA).
The Taiwan Railway Administration announced last night that express trains operating on the North Link, South Link and the Hualian-Taitung line would be canceled today.
Ships commuting between Penghu and Chiayi counties have been canceled for three days, starting yesterday.
Tourist ferries in Kaohsiung City have been canceled until the city lifts its typhoon alert.
Vegetable supplies are normal, with the average price of each transaction being NT$37.7, the COA said in its press release yesterday.
Parking along yellow and red lines in Taipei City will not be allowed during this storm, the city's Department of Transportation announced yesterday.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS