Local governments announce school, work closures for Wednesday

Taipei, Nov. 11 (CNA) Schools and offices in Miaoli County, Taichung, Changhua County, Yunlin County, Chiayi County, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Penghu County and parts of Hualien County will close on Wednesday due to the effects of Tropical Storm Fung-Wong, according to the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration (DGPA).

In Hualien County, schools and workplaces in Guangfu, Wanrong and Fenglin townships will be suspended, the DGPA said.

The directorate-general, which oversees government workers, published the school and work suspensions as the tropical storm continued to approach Taiwan on Tuesday evening. Many private companies in Taiwan also observe the closures, which are decided on by local governments.

According to the Central Weather Administration (CWA), as of 8 p.m. Tuesday, Fung-Wong was located about 270 kilometers south-southwest of Eluanbi, Taiwan's southernmost tip.

The storm was moving northeast at a speed of 8 kilometers per hour (kph) slowly increasing to 23 kph, with maximum sustained winds of up to 90 kph and gusts reaching 119 kph.

The tropical storm is expected to bring increasingly heavy rain to northern and eastern Taiwan in the coming days, the CWA said.

Fung-Wong is forecast to make landfall in Kaohsiung or Pingtung County in southern Taiwan on Wednesday.

Note: School and work closure information is valid as of 9 p.m. Tuesday. For updated info, please visit the DGPA website.