The military yesterday sent more personnel, machines and vehicles to Taitung County, the area worst-hit by Typhoon Neparak, to help with the clean-up and restoration.
The Ministry of National Defense said 1,219 soldiers were dispatched to 15 locations, including 30 to Green Island (綠島).
Due to a severe shortage of daily necessities on the island, the ministry has transported military rations and ready-to-eat meals for residents, the ministry said in a statement.
Photo: CNA
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) reiterated on Facebook her directive that efforts must be made to help Taitung residents rebuild their homes.
Nepartak made landfall in Taitung’s Taimali Township (太麻里) early on Friday and left a trail of destruction in the county.
Three people died and more than 300 were injured during the storm, according to data provided by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
At its peak, Nepartak was packing gusts of more than 200kph. It weakened after making landfall and by Saturday morning, it was downgraded to a tropical storm and was making its way toward China.
Taitung County accounted for 79 percent of all agricultural damage in the nation caused by Nepartak, with losses of about NT$727.03 million (US$22.5 million), according to Council of Agriculture data.
The military has since Thursday dispatched 14,800 personnel to Taitung County for rescue and disaster-prevention missions. They have so far helped with the evacuation and returning of 4,103 people, cleaned up 605km of roadways and transported 489 tonnes of waste, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, the Central Weather Bureau yesterday said there was strong precipitation in southern Taiwan yesterday morning, and more rain is expected.
In Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, as of 9am yesterday, the rainfall had reached more than 100 millimeters, it said.
Southwestern winds are forecast to become stronger nationwide and thunderstorms or short showers are expected through tomorrow in central and southeastern Taiwan, with occasional afternoon thundershowers expected for other parts of the nation, the bureau said.
Due to the strengthening southwesternly winds, a torrential rain warning has been issued for Chiayi, Yunlin, Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung, while a heavy rain warning is in place for Changhua, Taitung and Penghu, the bureau said.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
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