Southern Taiwan shuts down ahead of arrival of Typhoon Podul
Taiwan is regularly hit by typhoons, generally along its mountainous, sparsely populated east coast facing the Pacific.
The mid-strength Typhoon Podul, packing wind gusts as strong as 191 kph (118 mph), was heading for the southeastern city of Taitung as it intensifies and was expected to make landfall nearby on Wednesday afternoon, weather officials said.
'Destructive winds from typhoon expected. Take shelter as soon as possible,' read a text message alert issued to cellphone users in parts of Taitung early on Wednesday. The alert warned people of gusts above 150 kph (93 mph) in the coming hours.
Nine cities and counties announced the suspension of work and school for Wednesday, including the southern metropolises of Kaohsiung and Tainan. In the capital Taipei, home to Taiwan's financial markets, there was no impact.
Authorities are also working to evacuate those whose homes were damaged by a July typhoon that brought record winds and damaged the electricity grid in a rare direct hit to Taiwan's west coast. The government said almost 5,000 people had been evacuated ahead of the typhoon's arrival.
All domestic flights were cancelled on Wednesday, while Taiwan's two main international carriers China Airlines and EVA Air cancelled a handful of international flights as well.
After making landfall, the storm is expected to hit Taiwan's much more densely populated western coast before heading for China's southern province of Fujian later this week.
As much as 600 mm (24 inches) of rain was forecast in southern mountainous areas over the next few days, the Central Weather Administration said.
More than a year's rainfall fell in a single week this month in some southern areas, unleashing widespread landslides and flooding, with four deaths.
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business Standard
China braces for heavy rains as Podul makes landfall in southern provinces
About 15,000 people had been evacuated from seaside areas in southern China as of Wednesday, according to the official Xinhua News Agency AP Taipei China braced Thursday for heavy rains as Tropical Storm Podul made landfall in several southern provinces and thousands of people were evacuated. Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi provinces were the focus of the preparation efforts, but alarms were at a relatively low level given the storm's loss of strength as it passed over Taiwan on Wednesday. About 15,000 people had been evacuated from seaside areas in southern China as of Wednesday, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Podul made landfall shortly after midnight on Thursday in Fujian classified as a tropical storm downgraded from a typhoon and it has also triggered alarms in inland Hunan province, which is home to several lakes and rivers that often overflow. In Guangdong's Chaozhou city, classes and some government functions were suspended, while court proceedings were suspended in Hong Kong after it raised its highest rainstorm warning. The Hong Kong Observatory said the storm was moving away from the partially autonomous city, but that its outer edge was bringing squalls. Citizens were advised to stay away from the shoreline. There were no initial reports of casualties or damage in southern China. Southern Taiwan was cleaning up after the storm made landfall on Wednesday on the east coast counties of Taitung and Hualien before travelling out into the Taiwan Strait about five hours later. On the self-governing island, one person was swept out to sea, about 100 people were injured and 8,000 evacuated to shelters. Electric company workers moved swiftly to restore power following complaints over a slow response following earlier storms.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Indian Express
Tropical storm Podul disrupts southern China schools, courts
Tropical storm Podul on Thursday dumped torrential rain on southern China, still reeling from record downpours last week, and disrupted hospitals, schools and courts in Hong Kong after tearing through Taiwan and leaving 143 people injured. The hearing of Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai was cancelled after authorities put in place their highest-level 'black' rainstorm warning, as supporters queued under umbrellas outside the court. Medical authorities also announced that out-patient clinics would remain shut until the rain had passed. Meanwhile, airports across the region reported cancellation rates of around 20%, according to data from Flightmaster, as Podul pelted parts of the Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Hunan and Jiangxi with more than 70 mm (2.76 inches) of rain an hour. Over a third of flights to Quanzhou – a key textile, footwear and apparel export hub – were cancelled, with analysts warning extreme weather events increasingly pose a threat to growth in the world's second-largest economy. China has been battling with record rainfall in its north and south as well as prolonged heatwaves in its interior. The government on Thursday announced 430 million yuan ($59.9 million) in fresh funding for disaster relief, taking the total allocated since April to at least 5.8 billion yuan. 'Authorities need to be extra ready,' said Chim Lee, a senior analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit. 'There's growing evidence that we're seeing more intense and slower-moving tropical cyclones. 'China's southern coast is set for economic disruptions of all kinds. Most institutions in the region are fairly well prepared, but there also seems to be a subtle northward shift in where cyclones reach their peak intensity – these places need to keep a sharper eye out.' Podul made landfall on the coast of China's southeastern province of Fujian at 00:30 local time (1630 GMT Wednesday), having weakened from a typhoon to a tropical storm after lashing Taiwan on Wednesday, where winds of up to 191 kph (118 mph) left one person missing and scores injured. But its residual vortex stands to wreak havoc in southern China, still reeling from the heaviest rains in generations last week, as it moves northwest at a speed of 30-35 km per hour (19-22 mph). Across Guangdong, 75,000 people were evacuated last week, as a record 622.6 mm (24.5 inches) of rain fell on Guangzhou, the provincial capital from August 2-6 – almost three times the average rainfall for the city in August – killing at least seven people. Hong Kong last week experienced its heaviest August rainfall since 1884 last Tuesday. Authorities in Guangdong's Meizhou closed all the highways on Thursday due to the downpour, state media reported, while the high-speed railway linking the high-tech hubs of Shenzhen and Hangzhou in eastern Zhejiang province, some 1,200 km (745 miles) away, was also suspended.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Hong Kong lowers black rainstorm warning to red as Cyclone Podul triggers flooding, landslide alerts
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