Taiwan braces for tropic storm
Source: Agencies |
01:48 UTC+8 September 1, 2010
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Taiwan officials issued land and sea warnings yesterday for a severe tropical storm, the island's first this year, with heavy rain and wind gusts up to 90 kilometers per hour expected before it heads to Chinese mainland.
Although the storm falls one level short of a full-blown typhoon, Taiwan authorities have been particularly cautious since a typhoon last year - the worst in 50 years - killed about 700 people after initially being categorized as relatively weak storm.
That prompted a government reshuffle as citizens accused the leaders of reacting too slowly.
The storm, dubbed Namtheun, was expected to reach northern areas of the island by late yesterday with sustained winds of up to 65 kph, Taiwan's weather bureau said on its website.
Namtheun will pass over Taipei and the island's major northern port city Keelung, said the weather bureau, warning of mudslides, rockfalls and sudden swelling of rivers.
The storm - and two others not on track to hit Taiwan - prompted the cancellation of 42 domestic flights and six international flights yesterday, the civil aviation agency said.
The storm could grow to a category 1 typhoon, the mildest on a 1-5 scale, and reach the coast of southeast China, according to forecasting website Tropical Storm Risk.
Typhoons regularly hit China, the Philippines and Japan in the second half of the year.
They gather strength from the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean or South China Sea before weakening over land.
Although the storm falls one level short of a full-blown typhoon, Taiwan authorities have been particularly cautious since a typhoon last year - the worst in 50 years - killed about 700 people after initially being categorized as relatively weak storm.
That prompted a government reshuffle as citizens accused the leaders of reacting too slowly.
The storm, dubbed Namtheun, was expected to reach northern areas of the island by late yesterday with sustained winds of up to 65 kph, Taiwan's weather bureau said on its website.
Namtheun will pass over Taipei and the island's major northern port city Keelung, said the weather bureau, warning of mudslides, rockfalls and sudden swelling of rivers.
The storm - and two others not on track to hit Taiwan - prompted the cancellation of 42 domestic flights and six international flights yesterday, the civil aviation agency said.
The storm could grow to a category 1 typhoon, the mildest on a 1-5 scale, and reach the coast of southeast China, according to forecasting website Tropical Storm Risk.
Typhoons regularly hit China, the Philippines and Japan in the second half of the year.
They gather strength from the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean or South China Sea before weakening over land.
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