Taiwan issues land warning for Typhoon Usagi

Taipei, Nov. 14 (CNA) The Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing Luzon in the Philippines.

As of 5 p.m., Usagi was located over waters 420 kilometers south-southeast of Cape Eluanbi, Taiwan's southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150 kilometers, the CWA said in the land warning issued for the typhoon.

The land warning covered areas of Pingtung and Hengchun Peninsula, southern Taiwan, and came with an amended sea warning, updating the initial warning issued on Thursday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait, according to the CWA.

The approaching typhoon was moving at 18 turning 11 kph in the direction of northwest and expected to move north, packing maximum sustained winds of 155 kph and gusts up to 191 kph, the latest CWA data showed.

The CWA said Usagi was weakening and could be downgraded to a tropical storm before it makes landfall in southern Taiwan during the early hours of Saturday.

The impact of Typhoon Usagi is expected to be severest in the 24 hours from noon on Friday, the CWA forecast.

For more details on the current weather in Taiwan, please visit the Central Weather Administration website.