Parts of Taiwan announce school, office closures as typhoon nears

Taipei, July 23 (CNA) Most cities and counties around Taiwan have announced school and office closures for Wednesday as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan.

Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City/County, Tainan and Kaohsiung as well as Miaoli and Yilan Counties and Taitung County's Orchid Island on Tuesday evening announced school and office closures the following day.

In addition, Hualien, Chiayi and Pingtung Counties and outlying Lienchiang and Penghu Counties later Tuesday also announced that schools and offices will be closed for a typhoon day on Wednesday.

Gaemi has gained strength and expanded in size since Tuesday afternoon, prompting the Central Weather Administration (CWA) to expand its land warning to cover 17 cities and counties around Taiwan.

As of 9 p.m., Gaemi was located 370 kilometers east of Eluanbi, Taiwan's southernmost tip, moving at 19 kilometers per hour (kph) in a north-northwesterly direction, according to the CWA.

The storm was carrying sustained winds of 155kph, up from 144kph, with gusts of up to 191kph, the CWA said.

The typhoon storm radius had also grown from 200km earlier Tuesday afternoon to 220km.

Gaemi's outer rim is approaching the Bashi Channel and waters east of Taiwan, posing a threat to Yilan, Hualien, Taitung and areas north of Chiayi, Nantou and Kaohsiung. The storm is expected to continue to increase in intensity and size.

Currently, the land warning for Gaemi covers 17 cities and counties, up from 12 announced earlier Tuesday, including Yilan, Hualien and Taitung Counties, New Taipei, Keelung, Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City/County, Miaoli County, Taichung, Changhua, Nantou, Yunlin Counties, Chiayi City/County and Kaohsiung, according to the CWA.

A sea warning was issued late Monday covering waters east of Taiwan, the Bashi Channel, waters north of Taiwan, and the northern part of the Taiwan Strait.

The CWA said that due to the impact of Gaemi's peripheral circulation, all areas around Taiwan should be on alert for heavy rain or extremely heavy rain, with mountainous areas in central and southern Taiwan forecast to see localized extreme torrential rain, while localized torrential rain is expected in mountainous areas in the north, northeast and southeast.

The CWA defines extremely heavy rain as accumulated rainfall of 200mm or more within 24 hours, while torrential rain refers to rainfall of 350mm or more and extremely torrential rain is rainfall of 500mm or more.

The typhoon is likely to make landfall in eastern Taiwan on Wednesday, with showers and heavy or torrential rainfall forecast around the island over the next two days. 

With Gaemi gaining strength and approaching Taiwan, over 1,000 families in Hualien City and Xiulin Township have been evacuated to nearby shelters as a precautionary measure, according to Hualien County Government.

The CWA forecasts that accumulated rainfall in mountainous areas of Hualien could reach around 1,000mm, while 250-400mm is forecast for flat areas in the county.

Meanwhile, domestic flights and ferry services to the outlying Penghu and Matsu Islands scheduled for Wednesday have been cancelled, operators said Tuesday.

Taoyuan International Airport Corp. said as of 7 p.m. Tuesday, 74 flights scheduledto arrive or depart from the airport on Wednesday had been canceled, with only limited numbers of flights to be permitted from noon on Wednesday until midnight Friday.