Typhoon Chanthu could make landfall as far north as Yilan or Hualien counties late tomorrow night, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday, adding that a land alert could be issued this afternoon or tomorrow morning.
The bureau also said that it could possibly issue a sea alert late last night or early this morning.
As of 2pm yesterday, Chanthu was 960km southeast of Pingtung County’s Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 15kph, but was projected to shift northward as it approached the Taiwan Strait due to a weakening Pacific high-pressure system, the bureau said.
The bureau is closely monitoring the typhoon, as its route could also change as Tropical Storm Conson moves further west, CWB forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said.
Chanthu is expected to affect Taiwan starting tonight with rainfall in Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the Hengchun Peninsula, Lin said.
From tomorrow to Monday, showers and thunderstorms are forecast for the east coast, with the potential for heavy rain, while other areas should also expect showers or thunderstorms, Lin added.
By Sunday, Chanthu is expected to bring rain across Taiwan, while the north, northeast, east coasts and mountains could see heavy rain or downpours, Lin said, adding that only Kinmen and Penghu counties could expect relatively stable weather.
CWB specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) declined to comment on whether local governments would announce days off for work over the weekend, adding that the bureau was monitoring weather and traffic conditions.
The bureau said it was highly possible that by early tomorrow morning it would downgrade Chanthu to a medium typhoon, as it is approaching the Philippine island of Luzon and higher latitudes, which would weaken it.
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
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