Taiwan Daily: Island Braces for Potential Devastation Caused By Typhoon
Text of report in English by Taiwanese newspaper The China Post website on 18 August
[Unattributed article from the "Front Page" page: "Island Braces for Sepat's Potential Devastation"]
All public offices and schools throughout Taiwan will be closed today and both railway service and domestic flights will be cancelled as the island braces for the onslaught of Typhoon Sepat, the strongest storm to hit Taiwan so far this year.
Sepat began pounding Taiwan with strong winds and torrential rains, starting yesterday afternoon.
About 1,000 Aboriginals – native Taiwanese – were evacuated to safer places from Taitung and neighbouring eastern and southern counties.
One woman in the mountainous village of Haocha in Pingtung County had refused to evacuate to safer ground. But she was forcibly airlifted off the mountain by a military helicopter.
The village, which suffered floods and landslides in the last two tropical storms, has had all its lines of communication with the outside world cut.
About 3,900 mainland Chinese sailors hired by Taiwan fishing firms have sought shelter in the island’s protected harbours, according to the National Fire Agency under the Ministry of the Interior.
As of late night, Typhoon Sepat was centred at 160km southeast of Taiwan’s southeastern Taitung County, moving northwesterly at 18-21 km/h towards the island and packing maximum sustained winds of 184 km/h, said the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).
The onslaught is expected to cover the entire island as the storm has a radius of 250km.
The eye of Sepat is forecast to cross the coast near Taitung early this morning.
CWB meteorologists said exceptional precautions should be taken because of the unusually strong “17th grade” winds, with a maximum speed of 61.2 meters per second, and phenomenal heavy rains ranging from 400 to 1,000 milimeters depending on locations.
They said Sepat will be especially devastating partly because it has “concentric eyewalls” – with the outer eyewall surrounding the inner one in the typhoon eye – like the several typhoons that wreaked havoc on Taiwan in previous years.
New flash floods are expected, especially in eastern and southern Taiwan again, due to saturation of water in the soil in the wake of two tropical storms – Pabuk and Wutip – which swept across Taiwan last week, causing landslides and flash floods in those same areas, they explained.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin ordered the closure of all watergates in the capital city at 10 p.m., and Taipei County took the same action at midnight.
All shops were told to double-check their signboards are secured, and construction sites were instructed to secure scaffolding and other safety measures.
Hau swiftly relaxed restrictions on parking to allow vehicle owners to park on red and yellow lines, as well as at schools and selected bridges starting at 8 p.m. last night.
The Maokong Gondola cable car service in Muzha District will be closed for today.
While all central and local government officials are on alert for the typhoon, Taiwan cable news channels will cover the relevant news around the clock.
New and possibly even worse flash floods are expected to pound eastern and southern Taiwan again throughout Saturday and Sunday in the wake of two tropical storms – Pabuk and Wutip – which swept across Taiwan last week and caused landslides and flash floods in those areas, Lu said.
Most railway transport services will be suspended, beginning late last night, and all domestic flights will be grounded today.
The Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) announced a suspension of services before 2 p.m. today. Whether the suspension will be extended will be decided by weather conditions in the afternoon.
The high-speed rail system cancelled all bullet train services between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. today.
All of today’s domestic flights have been cancelled, while several international flights taking off tomorrow for regional cities like Ho Chi Minh City and Macao have also been cancelled.
Travellers are recommended to check their flight information before heading to the airport Saturday.
As to the Kinmen Xiamen ferry line, Kinmen officials responsible for port affairs said the transportation link between Kinmen to Xiamen and Quanzhou in southeastern China was closed from 1:30 p.m., and the closure will continue throughout today.
Originally published by The China Post website, Taipei, in English in English 18 Aug 07.
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