Tropical Storm Talim is likely to be the first storm to hit Taiwan this year and is expected to bring heavy rainfall across the nation, the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday.
The bureau said it would most likely issue a sea alert for the storm early this morning, while a land alert would be issued later in the day.
As of press time, the bureau had yet to issue a sea alert for Talim.
Graphic: TT
Information from the bureau showed that Talim, meaning “sharp” in Filipino, was formed at 2am yesterday.
By 5pm, the center of Talim was about 480km off the southwest coast of the Dongsha Islands (東沙群島). It was moving northeastward at 17kph, with a radius of 120km.
Forecaster Hsieh Min-ken (謝旻耕) said the bureau estimated the accumulated rainfall from today until Thursday could exceed 1,500mm in the mountainous areas of central and southern Taiwan because of the combined effect of Talim and the southwest monsoon.
The entire nation must be prepared to brave torrential rain, he said, adding that residents in central and southern Taiwan in particular must be ready to cope with the threat of extremely torrential rain.
Those living on the west coast need to be prepared for flooding caused by the rain and spring tide, the bureau said.
The bureau’s projected path of Talim showed it would cruise across the Taiwan Strait and be close to central Taiwan by tomorrow, when the wind and rain are expected to be the strongest.
The storm is then expected to move along the nation’s west coast before it moves away from Taiwan by Thursday.
While the rain is expected to be at its heaviest tomorrow and Thursday, the bureau forecast that the weather system around Taiwan would remain unstable until Friday.
Some of the meteorologists said Talim’s circumfluence resembled that of a tropical depression system that had caused severe flooding in August 1958. They said it was rare that a tropical storm or a typhoon would come from the Taiwan Strait, adding that the damage could be worse if it makes landfall.
In view of the disasters caused by last week’s torrential rain, the Directorate-General of Highways said it would start closing sections of several highways and county highways leading to scenic spots this afternoon, including Highways No. 7, 8, 9, 14, 18, 20 and 21.
Meanwhile, the Central Emergency Operation Center was activated at 3:30pm yesterday, half an hour earlier than scheduled, Cabinet officials said.
The relevant ministries have finalized their preparations for relief assistance, the Cabinet said in a statement, as it urged people to take early precautions against the storm and avoid traveling in mountainous areas.
Additional reporting by CNA
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique