Taiwan can expect rain, high waves as typhoon nears: CWB

Taipei, April 21 (CNA) Typhoon Surigae is likely to bring rain to northeastern Taiwan and high waves along the coastlines on Thursday, as it draws near, even though it is not expected to hit the country directly, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said Wednesday.

The typhoon, which was located east of the northern Philippines on Wednesday, is expected to pass closest to Taiwan on Thursday morning before veering sharply east into the Philippine Sea, CWB forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) told CNA.

The outer bands of the typhoon will bring rain to northeastern Taiwan on Wednesday night and to mountainous regions and eastern parts of the country on Thursday, while sunny skies will prevail in the rest of the country, Liu said.

He warned, however, of big waves in coastal areas around the country, especially in eastern and southern Taiwan, where they could be as high as six meters.

The CWB had observed waves as high as 4.2 meters near Taiwan earlier Wednesday, he added.

As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, Typhoon Surigae was located about 620 kilometers southeast of Taiwan's southern tip, moving north at a speed of 7 kilometers per hour, according to the CWB.

Meanwhile, daytime temperatures are expected to rise to 30-33 degrees Celsius across most of western Taiwan on Thursday and to around 28 degrees in eastern parts of the country, Liu said.