Typhoon Kong-rey is forecast to make landfall in eastern Taiwan this afternoon and would move out to sea sometime overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.
As of 9am today, Kong-rey's outer rim was covering most of Taiwan except for the north.
The storm's center was 110km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost tip, and moving northwest at 28kph.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
It was carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of 184kph, and gusts of up to 227kph, the CWA said.
At a news conference this morning, CWA forecaster Chu Mei-lin (朱美霖) said Kong-rey is moving "extremely fast," and is expected to make landfall between midday and the afternoon.
The eye of the storm would likely pull away from Taiwan's west coast overnight, followed by its outer rim tomorrow morning, Chu said.
The CWA has forecast extremely heavy rain for eastern and northern Taiwan today, meaning that rainfall totals could exceed 200mm in a 24-hour period or 100mm in three hours.
Mountainous areas in Yilan and Hualien counties in the east could see even higher rainfall levels, Chu said.
In terms of wind, Chu said gusts of up to level 17 on the Beaufort scale (above 200kph) have already been measured on Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼), off Taiwan's southeast coast.
As the storm passes over Taiwan, wind speeds are forecast to reach level 14 (149kph to 165kph) in Taitung and Penghu counties, and level 11 (103kph to 117kph) in Hualien, Yilan and Lienchiang counties, as well as areas from New Taipei City to Kaohsiung, Chu said.
Meanwhile, level 9 to 10 wind speeds (75kph to 102kph) are expected in Keelung, Taipei, Nantou County, Chiayi City and Kinmen County, Chu said.
Orchid Island recorded a sustained wind speed of 215.64kph, the CWA said today.
The CWA later this morning said it is not the highest record though the strong wind broke the station’s measuring device.
It is not updating the figure as the weather station on the island is experiencing unstable power supply due to the typhoon, said CWA.
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
SUPPORT: Arms sales to NATO Plus countries such as Japan, South Korea and Israel only have to be approved by the US Congress if they exceed US$25m The US should amend a law to add Taiwan to the list of “NATO Plus” allies and streamline future arms sales, a US commission said on Tuesday in its annual report to the US Congress. The recommendation was made in the annual report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), which contained chapters on US-China economic and trade ties, security relations, and Taiwan and Hong Kong. In the chapter on Taiwan, the commission urged the US Congress to “amend the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 to include Taiwan on the list of ‘NATO Plus’ recipients,” referring to
Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) said she would tender her resignation following criticism of her handling of alleged bullying by Ministry of Labor Workforce Development Agency branch director Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容) resulting in the death of an employee. The ministry yesterday gave Hsieh two demerits and said she is subject to review by the Disciplinary Court. The severest possible punishment would be her removal from office and being barred from government jobs indefinitely. Workforce Development Agency Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) also received a major demerit and was transferred to another position. Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) issued a formal apology