A hovering front and southwesterly airstream yesterday dropped more than 600mm of rain over a few hours in the nation’s northern coastal regions, killing one person and injuring five as of 8pm, authorities said.
The New Taipei City Fire Department said the torrential downpour caused 12 roads in the city to be closed, as well as schools and businesses in Bali (八里), Jinshan (金山), Sanjhih (三芝), Shihmen (石門), Tamsui (淡水) and Wanli (萬里) districts, adding that 256 people were evacuated and 156 were displaced.
New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) and New Taipei City Department of Social Affairs Director Chang Chin-li (張錦麗) visited Mackay Memorial Hospital in Tamsui to offer their condolences to the family of the deceased.
Photo: Courtesy of a reader
Chu said he would authorize district and school administrators to decide when to reopen after assessing the situation.
The delay in closures triggered criticism from the public after the rain worsened, stranding many people.
Rainfall in Shihmen District measured 114mm per hour, nearly the national record of 128mm per hour in Alishan (阿里山), the city government said.
Photo: Courtesy of a reader
More than 185 areas nationwide reported flooding, while more than 10,000 households were left without electricity, officials said.
The Central Weather Bureau warned that the weather system would bring downpours nationwide, with torrential rain — accumulated rainfall of 350mm or more within 24 hours — or extremely torrential rain — 500mm or more over a 24-hour period — likely on the northern coast.
As of 4pm, accumulated rainfall in several districts of New Taipei City was classified as extremely torrential, reaching 643mm in Sanzhi, 630mm in Shihmen’s Fuguijiao (富貴角), 572.5mm in Jinshan’s Sanhe (三和) and 534mm in Jinshan, bureau data showed.
Photo courtesy of Keelung’s Zhongshan District Office
Elsewhere, accumulated rainfall totaled 428mm in Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District (桃源) and 356mm in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), it showed.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Premier Lin Chuan (林全) said that people in mountainous areas should be evacuated as a precaution to prevent them from being trapped when the weather system passes over southern Taiwan.
The Water Resources Agency said that, in addition to flooded areas in New Taipei City, Keelung’s Jhongshan (中山), Renai (仁愛) and Xinyi (信義) districts were on a level 1 flood alert — imminent flooding if rain continues — and the Jhongjheng (中正), Anle (安樂) and Nuannuan (暖暖) districts were on a level 2 flood alert — possible flooding within three hours if rain continues.
Photo copied by Lin Chia-tung, Taipei Times
The Directorate-General of Highways (DGH) said that several sections of Provincial Highway No. 2, a major coastal roadway in northern Taiwan, have been closed indefinitely due to flooding and mudslides caused by the rain.
The affected areas are sections 15K-52K between New Taipei City’s Sanjhih and Wanli; 67K-71K along Bisha Port (碧砂港) in Keelung; and 75K-84K between the coastal scenic areas of Ruibin (瑞濱) and Bitou (鼻頭) in New Taipei City, the DGH said.
The DGH urged motorists to avoid using those sections of the coastal highway over the next few days as workers clear debris and perform repairs.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Flights to and from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) resumed at 12:43pm after a two-and-a-half hour suspension due to heavy rainfall in Taipei, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said.
A total of 137 flights were canceled or delayed at Songshan airport, including three flights that were unable to land and were redirected to airports in Taichung and Kaohsiung, the CAA said.
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport suspended ground operations at 10:45am, when it issued a thunderstorm warning, the CAA said, adding that the alert was not lifted until 12:40pm.
As of 1pm, 20 commercial passenger flights and one cargo flight had been canceled, while another 17 commercial flights and one cargo flight were delayed, airport data showed.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
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