Mountainous areas in Hsinchu, Miaoli brace for heaviest rain: CWA

Taipei, July 11 (CNA) Mountainous areas in Hsinchu County, Miaoli County and Taichung are expected to see the heaviest rainfall over the next 24 hours as Typhoon Bavi's outer bands affect Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said Saturday.

Cumulative rainfall in these mountainous areas could total 250 to 400 millimeters over the 24-hour period starting at 2 p.m. Saturday, the CWA said.

Mountainous parts of Hsinchu and Miaoli were already being inundated with rainfall on Saturday, according to CWA data.

As of 1:30 p.m., of the seven weather monitoring stations in Taiwan recording more than 400 mm of precipitation during the first 13 hours of Saturday, four were in Hsinchu County (two in Wufeng Township and two in Jianshi Township), and two were in Miaoli County (in Nanzhuang Township).

Mountainous areas in New Taipei, Taoyuan, Nantou County, Chiayi County, Kaohsiung, and Pingtung County were also forecast to see 200 mm to 340 mm of rain over the 24-hour period starting at 2 p.m. Saturday, the CWA said.

The most significant rainfall in low-lying areas was expected in New Taipei, Hsinchu County, and Miaoli, with rainfall forecast to hit 150 mm to 250 mm, while similar areas in Keelung, Taipei and Taoyuan were expected to see 100 to 190 mm, the CWA said.

In terms of wind, the CWA warned that from 6 p.m. Saturday to midnight, wind speeds on the outlying Orchid Island (Lanyu) and Green Island (Ludao) and in the Matsu Islands could attain 134 to 149 kilometers per hour.

Penghu County, Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei, Hsinchu city and county, Taoyuan, and Miaoli are projected to see wind speeds up to 89 km/h during the same period, it said.

The CWA estimated that Taiwan will move outside of Typhoon Bavi's storm radius late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.