A moist air current dumped torrential rain on southern Taiwan yesterday, prompting the closure of schools and offices in Greater Tainan and Greater Kaohsiung, where sporadic flooding has been reported.
The Water Resources Agency issued a Level 1 flood warning for the two municipalities and a Level 2 warning for Pingtung County.
Government agencies and schools in Greater Tainan were closed yesterday morning, while Greater Kaohsiung authorities suspended classes and work in government offices in the afternoon.
Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times
According to the Central Weather Bureau, the areas that received the most rainfall in the 13 hours between midnight on Monday and 1pm yesterday were Greater Tainan’s Sigang (西港) and Anding (安定) districts, where 318mm and 313mm of rain accumulated respectively.
Pingtung’s Liouciou Township (琉球) was hit by 302mm of rain during the same period, while Greater Kaohsiung’s Dashe (大社), Renwu (仁武) and Hunei (湖內) districts reported accumulations of 249mm, 239mm and 238mm respectively, bureau data show.
Greater Tainan’s disaster operations center said it had evacuated 70 people as a precaution since Monday night, including 32 residents of an education and nursing institution for the developmentally challenged.
Photo: CNA
The bureau said there is a high chance of torrential and extreme torrential rainfall in southern Taiwan today. People in the center of the country should be wary of damage caused by the rain.
“Greater Kaohsiung has been really unfortunate recently,” Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) said yesterday, referring to the gas pipeline explosions that killed 30 and injured 310 on July 31 and Aug. 1; the recent downpours that have inundated the streets ripped open by the blasts; and recent online rumors saying the explosions have made the municipality’s air toxic because.
Greater Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau Director Hsu Chuan-sheng (許傳盛) called on netizens to refrain from spreading misinformation and said he has asked police to identify the person behind the original post warning of “toxic air.”
Meanwhile, more than 5,000 Taiwan Railways Administration passengers were affected yesterday when train tracks were flooded and a pantograph malfunctioned.
The malfunction terrified passengers on the No. 3131 train, who were horrified to hear explosions as the train entered Baoan Station at 9:07am, but the administration later explained that the blasts occurred because of a tilted pantograph, the part on top of a train that collects power from the overhead cable.
The passengers were evacuated after the train entered the station and the electricity supply to the track was resumed at 10:55am, the administration said.
It added that flooding was reported on multiple track sections in Greater Tainan, Greater Kaohsiung and Pintung yesterday morning. Surging river water slowed trains to just 50kph between Greater Tainan and Baoan (保安).
As of 11am yesterday, 5,850 travelers had experienced delays.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS