Heavy rain brought by Typhoon Sinlaku pummeled the nation yesterday, causing injuries and disrupting traffic nationwide.
The National Disaster Protection and Prevention Commission reported yesterday that 17 people were injured and two were missing. More than 1,000 people were temporarily placed in shelters.
About 18,000 households were without electricity, while 800 households had no water.
The Council of Agriculture said agricultural damages had exceeded NT$114 million (US$3.57 million). As many as 200 rivers were listed as “alerts” for flooding.
All schools and businesses were expected to return to normal today, except for Jenai (仁愛), Hsinyi (信義) Kuohsing (國姓) and Yuchih (魚池) townships in Nantou County, Alishan Township (阿里山) in Chiayi County and Heping (和平) Township in Taichung County.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications said that road sections on 13 provincial and county highway were damaged. Seventeen sections had been repaired as of 2pm yesterday, while six sections will not be fixed until next week.
Howfeng Bridge (后豐大橋), connecting Howli (后里) and Fengyuan (豐原) in Taichung County, collapsed yesterday, causing three cars to fall into the Dachia River and to be washed away.
Uni Air canceled all of its flights between Taipei and Matsu. Flights from both China Airlines and Mandarin Airlines were delayed.
The Taiwan Railway Administration canceled its service before 12pm but resumed services yesterday afternoon.
After lingering off the east coast for a day, Sinlaku finally made landfall at 1:50am in Ilan County yesterday.
Tsai Fu-dien (蔡甫甸), a section chief at the Central Weather Bureau, said the typhoon remained stationary from 2pm to 5pm, when it moved off the coast.
At 7pm, the center of Sinlaku was 40km northwest of Keelung. It was moving northeast at a speed of 7kph with a radius of 250km.
Foehn winds were reported in the Taitung County, which continued for at least 18 hours.
Shipanlong (石磐龍) in Chiayi County had experienced the biggest accumulation of rain as of press time, topping 1,158mm. It was followed by Taipingshan (太平山) in Ilan County and Niaotsuishan (鳥嘴山) in Hsinchu County, with 1,028mm and 1,011mm respectively. The bureau estimated that rain in Chiayi may have exceeded 1,500mm.
Tsai said that because the typhoon lingered off the north coast for more than six hours, the continuous interaction between the typhoon’s circumfluence and the landforms had caused the rainfall in the central and southern Taiwan to increase drastically.
Sinlaku was expected to leave the nation by this evening.
CHINA
Meanwhile, a typhoon warning was sounded by officials for China’s eastern coast, leading to the evacuation of about 170,000 people yesterday.
Chinese media said Sinlaku could pummel Fujian and Zhejiang provinces with strong winds and torrential rains.
In Fujian, more than 30,000 fishermen were called into port, and all schools have been ordered closed for the next two days.
Flood warnings were issued for Zhejiang where waves of up to 6m were expected.
Sinlaku was downgraded to a tropical storm at 8pm last night.
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
DETERRENCE: Along with US$500 million in military aid and up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees, the bill would allocate US$400 million to countering PRC influence The US House of Representatives on Friday approved an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025 that includes US$500 million in military aid for Taiwan. The legislation, which authorizes funding for the US Department of State, US foreign operations and related programs for next year, passed 212-200 in the Republican-led House. The bill stipulates that the US would provide no less than US$500 million in foreign military financing for Taiwan to enhance deterrence across the Taiwan Strait, and offer Taipei up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for the same purpose. The funding would be made available under the US’ Foreign Military
WARNING: China has stepped up harassment of foreign vessels after its new regulation took effect last month, an official said, citing an incident in the Diaoyutai Islands The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday linked China’s seizure of a Taiwanese fishing vessel illegally operating in its territorial waters to Beijing’s new regulation authorizing the China Coast Guard to seize boats in waters it claims. Chinese officials boarded and then seized a Taiwanese fishing vessel operating near China’s coast close to Kinmen County late on Tuesday and took it to a Chinese port, the CGA said. The Penghu-registered squid fishing vessel Da Jin Man No. 88 (大進滿88) was boarded and seized by China Coast Guard east-northeast of Liaoluo Bay (料羅灣), 17.5 nautical miles (32.4km) from Taiwan’s restricted waters off Kinmen,
As eight basketball-playing international students appealed to the Taiwanese basketball industry after they were excluded from the draft of an upcoming new league merging the P.League+ and the T1 League, the new league’s preparatory committee spokesperson Chang Shu-jen (張樹人) yesterday said the committee would tomorrow discuss the supplementary measures and whether the international students can join the draft. The students on Tuesday called for support on their right to play in the upcoming new league, after a merger involving the two leagues impacted their eligibility for the draft. The international players from the University Basketball Association (UBA), led by first pick prospect