Heavy rain pounds Taiwan

Taipei, July 10 (CNA) The Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued a heavy rain alert for 15 cities and counties on Wednesday afternoon following the development of strong convective cloud systems.

Areas north of Taichung and in the Nantou regions, as well as Yilan, Hualien and areas south of Yunlin saw short-duration heavy rainfall and localized heavy rain, the CWA said.

The CWA warned residents in New Taipei's Xizhi and Shiding districts, and Taipei's Shilin District to be vigilant of heavy rain in mountainous areas and to swiftly move away from rising streams.

There is a likelihood of heavy rain affecting the Beigang River, Yongding River, Shiding River, and Shuangxi River in Taipei, with residents advised to avoid rivers and water-based activities, including river tracing, fishing and wild swimming, the CWA said.

In response to the strong convective rainstorms this afternoon, the Taipei City government said it had activated district disaster response centers.

As of 2 p.m., the highest hourly rainfall in Taipei was 103 millimeters at Fuzhoushan in Daan District, the city government said.

Cities and counties likely to experience heavy rain include Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung and Nantou, as well as the mountainous areas of Yunlin, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Yilan, and Hualien, according to the CWA.

The CWA has also issued a thunderstorm alert for Taipei, Taoyuan and New Taipei, warning of lightning strikes, strong gusts of wind, severe rainfall, rapidly rising water levels and flooding.