Tropical Storm Haikui is expected to bring heavy rain to Taiwan as it passes north of the country and strengthens into a typhoon, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday.
At 8am yesterday, Haikui was 1,240km east-southeast of Taipei, moving west-northwest at 21kph, CWB data showed.
With a radius of 120km, Haikui was packing maximum sustained winds of 108kph, with gusts of up to 136.8kph, the data showed.
CWB forecaster Wu Wang-hua (伍婉華) told reporters at about noon that the storm was likely to strengthen into a typhoon as it moved north.
It would be closest to Taiwan today and tomorrow on its current path, Wu said.
However, if it does not move as far north as projected, it could significantly affect Taiwan, she said.
Regardless of its path, Haikui is likely to bring heavy rain to parts of Taiwan, she said, adding that the CWB might issue a sea warning today.
Meanwhile, Super Typhoon Saola was 350km west-southwest of Taiwan at 2pm yesterday, moving across the South China Sea toward China, CWB data showed.
Parts of Taiwan are likely to have heavy rain today as the peripheries of both storms affect the nation, Wu said.
CWB lifted its sea warning for Typhoon Saola at 2:30pm yesterday and its land warning at 11:30pm on Wednesday as the storm weakened and its storm circle decreased.
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
STAY VIGILANT: When experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, such as dizziness or fatigue, near a water heater, open windows and doors to ventilate the area Rooftop flue water heaters should only be installed outdoors or in properly ventilated areas to prevent toxic gas from building up, the Yilan County Fire Department said, after a man in Taipei died of carbon monoxide poisoning on Monday last week. The 39-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), an assistant professor at Providence University in Taichung, was at his Taipei home for the holidays when the incident occurred, news reports said. He was taking a shower in the bathroom of a rooftop addition when carbon monoxide — a poisonous byproduct of combustion — leaked from a water heater installed in a poorly ventilated
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