Taitung, Hualien, Pingtung, Kaohsiung announce school, work closures

Taipei, Sept. 22 (CNA) Schools and offices in Taitung and Hualien counties, as well as parts of Pingtung County and Kaohsiung will close on Tuesday due to the effects of Typhoon Ragasa, according to the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration (DGPA).

The directorate-general, which oversees government workers, announced on Monday that school and work will be suspended across all of Taitung and Hualien.

In Pingtung, schools and workplaces in Hengchun, Checheng, Manzhou, Fangshan, Sandimen, Wutai, Majia, Taiwu, Laiyi, Chunri, Shizi and Mudan townships will be suspended, the DGPA said.

Meanwhile, in the southern port city of Kaohsiung, work and school will be suspended in the five mountainous districts of Liouguei, Jiasian, Namasia, Maolin and Taoyuan, with accumulated heavy rain of 300-490 millimeters expected, the DGPA added.

As of 8 p.m., Typhoon Ragasa was located roughly 270 kilometers south of Cape Eluanbi, Taiwan's southernmost point, moving west northwest at a speed of about 20 km per hour, according to data from the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

With a radius of 320 km, the storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 209 kph, with gusts reaching up to 263 kph.

The CWA has said Typhoon Ragasa is forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from Monday afternoon through Tuesday.

The agency said Taiwan's main island could be out of the storm circle by Tuesday morning and the sea warning lifted Tuesday night.