Air and sea traffic between Taiwan proper and outlying islands was disrupted yesterday as Typhoon Mawar edged toward the country, with 10 ferry routes suspended and 22 domestic flights canceled, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said.
Thirty-five ferry journeys were suspended yesterday morning, including the service between Keelung and Lienchiang County (Matsu), and Fuao Harbor (福澳港) in the county’s Nangan Township (南竿) and Langqi in China’s Fujian Province.
Ferries from Chiayi County’s Budai Township (布袋) to Penghu County’s Magong (馬公), from Tainan’s Jiangjun District (將軍) to Penghu’s Dongji Island (東吉嶼), and from Taitung County’s Fugang Harbor (富岡漁港) to Green Island (綠島) and Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) were also canceled, the ministry said.
Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP
As of 10am yesterday, 22 domestic flights linking Taitung with Orchid and Green islands had been canceled, but international flights were not affected, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said.
As a result of the disruptions, 330 travelers were stranded on Green Island and 478 on Orchid Island, the transportation ministry said.
The Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC) is warning people in Yilan and Hualien counties, and New Taipei City to brace for downpours and strong winds as Mawar nears.
People in mountainous areas in Taoyuan and Hsinchu County should also prepare for heavy rain, which is expected to continue through today, it said.
Hsiao Huan-chang (蕭煥章), deputy head of the CEOC and deputy director-general of the National Fire Agency, said the center was issuing warnings for landslides and falling rocks that could affect sections of highways, including Provincial Highway No. 7 from Taoyuan’s Dasi District (大溪) to Yilan, a section connecting Taichung’s Heping District (和平) with Yilan and a section linking New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽) with Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興).
The typhoon was yesterday about 440km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and moving north-northeast at 14kph. It had maximum sustained winds of 119kph, with gusts up to 155kph, the Central Weather Bureau said.
Mawar is forecast to continue moving north-northeast over the next 24 hours, the bureau said, adding that it expects to lift a sea warning at about 5:30pm.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
RSS