Taiwan News
Date: 2016-10-03
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

As Typhoon Chaba heads toward the Ryukyu Islands and mainland Japan this week, northern and northeastern Taiwan is expected to see a few showers in the first half of the week; meanwhile, a weather expert warned a tropical cyclone offshore east of the Philippines is likely to develop into a typhoon around Wednesday. The impact of this typhoon on Taiwan remains unknown.

The Central Weather Bureau indicated that, apart from a few scattered showers, daytime maximum temperatures will reach a maximum of 32° to 34°C in the north on Monday and of 30° to 31°C on Tuesday.

Typhoon Chaba is said to threaten Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and its mainland this week. A northward shift in its track could threaten southern South Korea as well.

Although Taiwan was spared from a direct hit by Typhoon Chaba, the country has been warned of a new typhoon forming. Wu Der-rong, a meteorologist and adjunct associated professor of atmospheric sciences at National Central University, cited data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and said a tropical cyclone is likely to develop into a typhoon far offshore east of the Philippines.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/09/29
By: Chang Che-fon and Christie Chen

Kaohsiung, Sept. 29 (CNA) Rescue workers on Thursday found the bodies of three people who went missing following a mudslide in Kaohsiung during Typhoon Megi, bringing the typhoon death toll to seven.

The bodies of 86-year-old Shih Fu-yin (施福寅), his 82-year-old wife Shih Wu-luan (施吳鸞) and their 50-year-old son Shih Chia-li (施家禮) were found in a room on the first floor of their home in Kaohsiung’s Yanchao District, according to the Kaohsiung City Fire Bureau.

Wang Tsung-chan (王宗展), captain of the fire bureau’s Fourth Corps, said all three bodies were found in Shih Wu-luan’s room, meaning that Shih’s husband and son may have been trying to help her escape when the mudslide tore through their home and engulfed them.

The first floor of the two-story house was almost completely covered in rocks and mud. Backhoes were dispatched to the site on Wednesday, after the authorities received reports that the three might have been buried by the mudslide.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date:2016/09/29
By: Wang Shu-fen and Christie Chen

Taipei, Sept. 29 (CNA) Tropical Storm Chaba is likely to turn north after approaching Japan’s Okinawa,

lowering the chances of it hitting Taiwan in the coming days, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said Thursday.

The bureau predicted that Chaba, which formed in the Pacific a day earlier, will begin to move in a west-northwesterly direction toward Okinawa Friday.

It is likely to turn further north toward Japan proper once it reaches waters east of Okinawa, meaning that the storm circle might not touch land in Taiwan, according to the bureau.

That would spare Taiwan the fate of being hit by a typhoon for the third time in three weeks following the destruction caused by Typhoons Meranti and Megi on Sept. 14 and 27.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: September 29, 2016
By: CNA

A roofless farm association sales center is seen in this photo taken in Yilan on Wednesday, Sept. 28. Strong winds brought by Typhoon Megi swept the 40-year-old cypress roof off the building on Tuesday.     [SOURCE]

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-09-28
By: Wendy Lee, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Three people in southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City were reportedly buried alive in a sudden landslide on Tuesday triggered by typhoon Megi. Police units and emergency services have rushed to the scene upon receiving a call from neighbors, media reports said.

Typhoon Megi, the third severe storm to strike Taiwan in two weeks, battered the island with torrential rains and damaging winds on Tuesday, leaving four people dead, 527 injured, and over 1 million households without power, according to the figures released by the Central Disaster Emergency Operation Center (CDEOC).

Three people, including an elderly couple and their son, were reported missing and feared buried alive after a landslide engulfed their two-story home located in Kaohsiung’s Yanchao District.

The collapse of the building was reported by the victims’ neighbors, who said that the landslide has completely destroyed the ground floor of the building.     [FULL  STORY]

WAITING GAME:More than 4,000 people were still in shelters, while about 360,000 households were without electricity yesterday, data showed

Taipei Times
Date: Sep 29, 2016
By: Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

More than 600 people were injured by Typhoon Megi, which made landfall on the east coast on Tuesday

afternoon.

The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) lifted both land and sea warnings at 5:30pm yesterday after Megi weakened into a tropical storm and landed on China’s Fujian Province.

CWB forecaster Hsieh Ming-chang (謝明昌) said that although the nation was no longer under the storm’s coverage, wind speed in coastal areas still reached level 8 on the Beaufort scale.

Heavy precipitation continued in some southern regions due to lingering clouds from the storm, which should ease today, he said.

He added that a low-pressure system that is about 500km southeast of Taiwan is likely to move toward the nation between tomorrow and Saturday, which could affect the weather in Hualien, Taitung and southern Taiwan, he said.     [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: September 29, 2016
By: Stephanie Chao

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan began to recollect itself on Wednesday following a fierce battering from

Typhoon Megi, which caused the second-largest power outage on Taiwan record.

According to the Central Emergency Operation Center, as of 8 a.m. Wednesday, Megi had resulted in four deaths and 527 injured island-wide.

Electricity in 1.3 million households across Taiwan had yet to be restored as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, the Ministry of Economic Affairs reported.

Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) representatives said electricity would be restored to most affected homes by Thursday night.

However, mountainous areas in New Taipei, Yunlin, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Kinmen would not see complete restoration until Friday night.

Power outages, which affected the second highest number of households in Taiwan’s history, were concentrated in Taichung (237,000), Kaohsiung (150,000), Changhua (110,000) and Yunlin (103,000), where restoration efforts were still underway, according to a Taipower statement.

As of press time, at least 50,000 units in Tainan were still without power.

During an inspection of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, President Tsai Ing-wen said she was pleased to see that operations at the airport were going smoothly. Earlier this year, the airport saw severe flooding, leading to widespread flight cancellations.     [FULL  STORY]

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/09/28
By: Flor Wang

Taipei, Sept. 28 (CNA) The Central Weather Bureau lifted the land warning for Taiwan proper at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday after Typhoon Megi battered all regions of the island on Tuesday.

The bureau warned, however, that the outlying Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu islands remained on full alert as strong rain and gusty winds persisted in those areas.

The bureau’s sea warning for the typhoon was still in effect and covered the Taiwan Strait and waters off of Taiwan’s northern coast.

Heavy rain and extremely heavy rain warnings for Taiwan proper and the country’s outlying islands have also been issued.     [FULL  STORY]