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Gold9472
07-17-2005, 02:23 PM
Taiwan Govt Issues Warnings as Super Typhoon Haitang Approaches

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=aTWszcCRr82g&refer=asia

July 17 (Bloomberg) -- Taiwan's government issued warnings for people to stay away from mountains and rivers, and flights were canceled as Super Typhoon Haitang, with winds gusting to 196 mph (315 kph), headed toward the island's northeast coast.

Haitang, the fifth tropical storm of the Pacific's typhoon season, had sustained winds of 161 mph earlier today, the U.S. government's Joint Typhoon Warning Center Web site said. The center was about 370 kilometers (230 miles) east-southeast of the city of Hualian at 2 p.m. Taiwan time and moving northwest at 17 kph (11 mph) Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said.

Taiwan's government issued mudslide and flood warnings for north Taiwan, including Taipei, and said Haitang will probably make landfall near Ilan, southeast of the capital, sometime after 2 p.m. tomorrow. Flights to and from Hualian were canceled after the airport was closed at noon, and train services on the east coast are suspended.

The Taipei city government issued a statement saying it will decide before 10 p.m. tonight whether to close all offices, schools and markets and recommend people stay home.

Japan's Meterological Agency issued a warning at 2:05 p.m. Tokyo time of the possibility of a large storm surge and strong winds for the southern islands of the Okinawa island chain which are adjacent to Taiwan.

Wave heights were as high as 50 feet (15 meters) around the center of the storm earlier today, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center said.

Sustained winds were forecast to have declined to 155 mph with gusts as high as 190 mph by 2 p.m. today, the Typhoon Warning Center said in its alert, which was put out at 11 a.m. Taiwan time. The next bulletin will be put out around 7 p.m. tonight.