Torrential rain alert issued for southeastern Taiwan

Taipei, July 21 (CNA) The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Monday issued a torrential rain advisory for Taitung County and an extremely heavy rain alert for Hualien County, as a low-pressure front continues to bring sudden downpours to southeastern and eastern Taiwan.

In addition, heavy rain advisories were issued for Yilan County in the northeast; Pingtung County, the Hengchun Peninsula, Orchid Island, and Green Island in the south; and the outlying Matsu Islands, the CWA said.

The CWA defines torrential rain as more than 350 mm in 24 hours or 200 mm in three hours.

Extremely heavy rain means over 200 mm in 24 hours or 100 mm in three hours, while heavy rain refers to more than 80 mm in 24 hours or more than 40 mm in an hour, according to the CWA.

The agency warned of thundershowers and strong winds in Taitung and Hualien, urging the public to watch for flooding and possible landslides in mountainous areas.

As of 8 a.m., Dawu Township in Taitung recorded the highest rainfall in Taiwan at 264.5 mm, followed by 89 mm in Pingtung's Shizi Township and 67 mm in Yilan's Toucheng Township the CWA said.

As of 2 a.m. Monday, the eye of Severe Tropical Storm Wipha, which battered Macau and Hong Kong over the weekend, was about 1,020 kilometers west of Eluanbi, Taiwan's southernmost point, and continued to bring heavy rain to Taiwan, the CWA said.

The CWA said daytime temperatures around Taiwan are expected to range between 27 and 31 degrees Celsius on Monday, before falling to 25 to 27 degrees at night.

Independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮) said unstable weather is expected to continue through Wednesday, with heavy rain possible in eastern Taiwan and localized afternoon showers and thunderstorms in western mountainous areas.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Environment said the air quality around Taiwan will be mostly "fair" to "good" on Monday.