CWA lifts sea warning for Tropical Storm Wipha

Taipei, July 19 (CNA) Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA) lifted its sea warning for Tropical Storm Wipha at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, as the weather system moved away from Taiwan.

As of 5 p.m., the eye of the storm was located 290 kilometers west-southwest of Cape Eluanbi in southern Taiwan, moving west-northwest at a speed of 22-25 kph, according to CWA data.

Wipha was carrying maximum sustained winds of 108 kph near its center, with gusts of up to 137 kph, the CWA indicated.

On its current trajectory, the storm poses little or no threat in the Taiwan Strait or Bashi Channel, therefore, the sea warning has been lifted, according to the CWA.

However, Wipha has been categorized as a severe tropical storm that is still strengthening and expanding, the CWA said.

CWA forecaster Lin Ping-yu (林秉煜) warned of strong winds, powerful waves and continued rain across Taiwan on Saturday.

Specifically, the CWA issued torrential rain warnings for Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, and extremely heavy rain advisories for Kaohsiung, plus Nantou and Yilan counties .

Additionally, Keelung, New Taipei, Taoyuan and Taichung are under heavy rain alerts.

As of 5:10 p.m., Taitung, Hualien and Pingtung had each recorded over 400 millimeters of rainfall, while Yilan had recorded 264 mm.

Lin said heavy rains could be expected to continue in Hualien and Taitung on Sunday.

Extremely heavy rains are likely to continue on the Hengchun Peninsula, in Hualien, Taitung and the mountainous areas of southern Taiwan into Sunday, while other areas can expect the heavy rain into Monday, he said.

While Wipha is moving away from Taiwan, one or more tropical systems may develop due to the effects of seasonal low pressure winds, Lin said.