Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan would “in principle” call a typhoon day together for Thursday if conditions brought by Typhoon Khanun meet the necessary criteria, city mayors said on Wednesday.
As the storm shifts further west, the chances of winds reaching at least Level 7 on the Beaufort Scale in northern Taiwan have increased to 80 percent in Keelung, 75 percent in Taipei, 72 percent in New Taipei City and 66 percent in Taoyuan, Central Weather Bureau data showed.
The bureau issued a sea alert for Khanun on Tuesday evening and said it does not rule out issuing a land alert, which is expected to be called by 5:30pm on Wednesday if applicable.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Bureau
The cities are closely monitoring the storm’s path and forecasted conditions, and are preparing emergency response teams, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) told reporters at a morning event attended by representatives from the four local governments.
Asked whether they would announce a typhoon day by 8pm, Chiang said the cities would together discuss current conditions and commuting difficulties, placing public safety as the highest priority.
Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang (張善政) said that although conditions are expected to be better in his city, heavy rain is still expected.
The four cities would “in principle” synchronize their response, he added.
A typhoon day may be called if the radius of a cyclone is to pass through the municipality within four hours, with sustained winds at Level 7 or gusts of Level 10 or higher.
It may also be called if accumulated rainfall is forecast to total at least 350mm over the following 24 hours.
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