Fung-Wong downgraded to tropical storm

Taipei, Nov. 11 (CNA) Fung-Wong has been downgraded to a tropical storm from a typhoon as it approaches Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said Tuesday.

Speaking with reporters, CWA forecaster Chu Mei-lin (朱美霖) said the storm has weakened but will still pose a major threat to Taiwan and its surrounding waters as it comes closer.

As of 9 a.m., the center of Tropical Storm Fung-Wong was located 360 kilometers southwest of Cape Eluanbi, Taiwan's southernmost point, and moving north-northeast to northeast at a speed of 12 kilometers per hour.

It was carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 108 kph and gusts of 137 kph, compared with 119 kph and 155 kph, respectively, recorded at around 7 a.m. when Fung-Wong was still classified as a typhoon.

The CWA issued a land warning for Fung-Wong at 5:30 a.m., saying the alert covered Kaohsiung, Pingtung, and the Hengchun Peninsula in southern Taiwan. Chu said the latest update on the storm extended the land warning to Tainan and Taitung, and it was likely to include Chiayi later in the day.

The storm is expected to move in a northeasterly direction Wednesday and is likely to make landfall in southern Taiwan sometime during the afternoon or evening, Chu said. It will then continue to move in a northeast direction, with its strength sapped further due to geographic reasons.

Chu said the storm could exit from northeastern Taiwan late Wednesday evening or early Thursday morning, and could become a tropical depression or a tropical cyclone as it leaves the island.

The combined effects of the storm and a seasonal northeasterly wind system are expected to bring heavy precipitation, Chu said, adding that with Fung-Wong approaching, rain will increase most noticeably in central and southern Taiwan.