Typhoon Podul hits Taiwan
The typhoon had wind gusts of 191 kilometres (119 miles) per hour as it made landfall in Taitung County at around 1:00 pm (0500 GMT), the Central Weather Administration said.
Podul is expected to sweep across the island and into the Taiwan Strait later Wednesday, battering central and southern areas still recovering from storms last month.
More than 5,500 people living in the typhoon's path have been evacuated from their homes, while fishermen have secured their boats.
"We are worried about this typhoon," Kaohsiung fisherman Huang Wei told AFP as he used more ropes to tie down his boat and checked on other vessels hours ahead of Podul making landfall.
"We had already made general typhoon preparations yesterday, but this morning I woke up and saw news reports that the typhoon has intensified to be as strong as the last, (Typhoon) Krathon," Huang said.
"Last time, the two boats behind us weren't tied properly and hit my boat."
Krathon slammed into Kaohsiung in October, with wind gusts of 162kph.
Typhoon Podul is expected to dump torrential rain across mountainous areas of Kaohsiung City and neighbouring Pingtung County, as well as lightly populated Hualien and Taitung counties, the CWA said.
Taitung resort worker Lo Wan-chun told AFP by telephone that locals feared the storm could be as strong as Typhoon Nepartak in 2016, when the county recorded its strongest gusts since 1901.
"After 8:00 am, the storm began to intensify," she said, before Podul hit.
"It's still getting stronger. You can hear the wind is loud right now.
"We don't recommend guests go out."
All domestic flights across the island of 23 million people have been cancelled for Wednesday, along with dozens of international journeys.
High-speed rail services on the west coast have been reduced while train services in the southeast have been cancelled.
Many ferry services have also been suspended, and businesses and schools across the south are closed.
More than 31,500 soldiers were ready to assist in typhoon preparations as well as rescue and relief efforts, disaster officials said.
The CWA expects Kaohsiung and Pingtung could be hit with a cumulative 400-600 millimetres (16-24 inches) of rain from Tuesday to Thursday.
Typhoon Danas, which hit Taiwan in early July, killed two people and injured hundreds as the storm dumped more than 500mm of rain across the south over a weekend.
That was followed by torrential rain from July 28 to August 4, with some areas recording more than Taiwan's rainfall of 2.1 metres for 2024.
The week of bad weather left five people dead, three missing, and 78 injured, a disaster official said previously.
Taiwan is accustomed to frequent tropical storms from July to October.
Scientists say human-driven climate change is causing more intense weather patterns that can make destructive floods more likely.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Observer
2 hours ago
- Observer
Spain and Portugal battle wildfires as death toll mounts
MADRID: Thousands of firefighters backed by the military and water-bombing aircraft on Monday battled dozens of wildfires across Spain and Portugal, as the death toll increased to six since the outbreaks began. The Iberian peninsula has been particularly affected by forest fires fuelled by heatwaves and drought blamed on climate change that have hit southern Europe. More than 343,000 hectares of land — the equivalent of nearly half a million football pitches — have been destroyed this year in Spain, setting a new national record, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). The previous record of 306,000 hectares was set in the same period three years ago. Two firefighters were killed on Sunday — one in each country, both in road accidents — taking the death toll to two in Portugal and four in Spain. The head of Spain's Civil Protection and Emergencies, Virginia Barcones, said there were currently 23 "active fires" that pose a serious and direct threat to the population. The fires, now in their second week, were concentrated in the northwest regions of Galicia, Castile and Leon; and Extremadura. In Ourense province of Galicia, signs of the fires were everywhere, from ashen forests and blackened soil to destroyed homes, with thick smoke forcing people to wear facemasks. Firefighters battled to put out fires, as locals in just shorts and T-shirts used water from hoses and buckets to try to stop the spread. Spain's meteorological agency said the heatwave, which has seen temperatures hit 45°C in parts of the country, was coming to an end. Spain is being helped with firefighting aircraft from France, Italy, Slovakia and the Netherlands, while Portugal is receiving air support from Sweden and Morocco. "It's a very difficult, very complicated situation", Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles said. The size and severity of the fires and the intensity of the smoke — visible from space — were making "airborne action difficult", she added. Officials in Castile and Leon said a firefighter died on Sunday night when the water truck he was driving flipped over on a steep forest road and down a slope. Two other volunteer firefighters have died in Castile and Leon, while a Romanian employee of a riding school north of Madrid lost his life trying to protect horses from the fire. In Portugal, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said a firefighter died on Sunday in a traffic accident that left two colleagues seriously injured. A former mayor in the eastern town of Guarda died on Friday while trying to tackle a fire. Some 2,000 firefighters were deployed across northern and central Portugal on Monday, with about half of them concentrated in the town of Arbanil. Some 216,000 hectares of land have been destroyed across Portugal since the start of the year. — AFP
Observer
2 hours ago
- Observer
In heatwave, Romans turn to vintage snow cones to stay cool
Forget ice cream, sorbet or even the beloved Italian gelato -- when Romans swelter in a heatwave, they turn to the traditional "grattachecca". It may be difficult for non-Italians to pronounce -- think "gratta-kekka" -- but the Roman-style shaved ice is colourful, cheap and refreshing like no other. In an turn-of-the-century kiosk near the Tiber River, Massimo Crescenzi, 72, was in constant motion one recent weekday in front of a patiently waiting line of clients, whose numbers rarely flag with 37C temperatures scorching the capital. His wife Rosanna Mariani was behind the scenes at the "Golden Fountain" as the business is named, pulling large blocks of ice out of a freezer, cracking them with a pick into small chunks, and feeding them into a machine. In heatwave, Romans turn to vintage snow cones to stay cool Her husband then poured the crushed ice into a glass, adding fresh fruit and colourful syrups, according to each customer's preferences. He cautioned that the treat loved by generations of Romans was not Sicilian granita -- in which water is combined with fruit and sugar from the outset and frozen together. A debate lingers in Rome over the merits of using the more hygienic machine, which is Crescenzi's choice, or the old-fashioned way of shaving the ice by hand. "It's delicious! Especially on such a hot day, it's very refreshing," said Andrea Alvarado, a 55-year-old Californian, who opted for the exotically flavoured tamarind, mint and black cherry grattachecca on offer. While on vacation in Rome, she learned about the four-euro treat on social media: a modern way to discover an old tradition. In heatwave, Romans turn to vintage snow cones to stay cool With increasingly frequent heatwaves in Rome, demand is growing, the owners told AFP, with various kiosks across the city offering the frozen desserts. "The season used to begin in June through September. Now, we're May to October and probably in the next few years it will be even longer," Crescenzi said. - Four generations - Boasting that theirs is "the oldest kiosk in Rome", Mariani showed off black-and-white photos taken in 1913 of the family business. "It's a kiosk that was opened by my grandfather 112 years ago," said Crescenzi. That means the business has so far lasted four generations, now that his youngest son helps him during the summer rush. Sitting in the shade, US tourist Victoria Kiser was enjoying her treat: "There's a reason it's been in business since 1913," she agreed. In heatwave, Romans turn to vintage snow cones to stay cool Crescenzi knows the history of grattachecca like the back of his hand. Back in the day, "ice came from the Abruzzo mountains and was transported to Rome by carts," he said. Those were the days before factories began to produce ice, making things more efficient. The treat's name probably derives from the story of a nobleman whose servants would prepare food and drink for him, he said. "When he went to ask for a very refreshing drink, one with ice, he had around him various people including the famous Francesca, whose diminutive in Roman dialect is 'checca'." Grattachecca was born. French tourist Fabien Torcol was enjoying a coconut-lemon grattachecca. He said he loved the dessert, but... "It's not easy to pronounce," he laughed. —AFP
Observer
2 days ago
- Observer
Portugal wildfires claim first victim, as Spain on alert
MADRID: Portugal suffered its first death from the fires raging there, as Spain's weather agency warned of a "very high to extreme risk" of more wildfires there during Europe's intense heatwave. Further east, Greece was still fighting blazes on one Aegean island, but the situation had improved for several other southern European countries. Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced the death of the former mayor of the eastern town of Guarda, Carlos Damaso, who had been fighting the fires. The president said he had cut short his holidays and returned to work, joining a meeting of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority. For days now, several thousand firefighters have been battling fires in various parts of the country. Portugal, like Spain, has invoked the EU's civil protection mechanism to ask for help, requesting four firefighting aircraft to use until Monday, its presidency said on X. In Spain, three people have died in the fires, including two young volunteers in their thirties who lost their lives trying to extinguish a blaze in the Castile and Leon area. — AFP
