The Central Weather Bureau yesterday said it has not ruled out that Tropical Storm Doksuri could make landfall in Taiwan, although considerable uncertainty remains about its path.
As of 8pm, Doksuri was about 1,300km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west at 9kph, bureau data showed.
The storm, which had a radius of 100km, was packing maximum sustained winds of 82kph with gusts of up to 108kph.
Doksuri could get stronger after today and turn northwest tomorrow when it reaches the Philippine Sea, but its effect on Taiwan would depend on how much it changes direction, bureau forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said.
The most likely day on which a sea warning might be issued would be Tuesday, he added.
Doksuri’s periphery would affect Taiwan from that day, when the north and east of the country would have rain.
Photo courtesy of the Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau
Doksuri would be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and during those two days, there would be rain across all of Taiwan, he said.
Meanwhile, work continued yesterday on the recovery of about 600 containers that fell into the ocean after the Palau-flagged ship Angel sank on Friday while anchored off the Port of Kaohsiung, Taiwan International Ports Corp’s Kaohsiung branch said.
The company said it is working with the Kaohsiung City Government, the Coast Guard Administration, the Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau and the Fisheries Agency.
It said that 17 vessels were yesterday sent to retrieve the containers, many of which have been seen floating near Linyuan District (林園) and Donggang Township (東港).
Although it could take four to five days to recover all of the containers, progress would depend largely on marine conditions, the company said.
As of noon yesterday only 26 containers had been retrieved, and there were reports of others getting in the way of local fishing boats and damaging fishing equipment.
Taiwan International Ports Corp said a salvage team would be sent to the ship today to seal the vents connected to its oil tanks and pump the oil out to avoid any leakage.
The ship reportedly contains 393.4 tonnes of low-sulfur fuel, 98.1 tonnes of light diesel and 0.348 tonnes of lubricating oil.
The Angel, which was anchored about 5km from shore on July 4, began taking on water and listing on Thursday, before the captain decided to abandon ship and ordered all 19 crew into lifeboats.
The ship sank at about midnight the next day.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue