Air, sea transport disrupted ahead of Typhoon Dolphin

Taipei, Aug. 6 (CNA) Several airlines and Taiwan's Maritime and Port Bureau on Thursday announced widespread service changes as Typhoon Dolphin approaches the country, with authorities urging travelers to monitor updates and avoid nonessential trips to outlying islands.

Starlux Airlines said its Friday JX308/JX309 flight between Taichung International Airport and Japan's Shimojishima Airport in Okinawa Prefecture has been cancelled.

Starlux has also tentatively cancelled its JX302/JX303 and JX312/JX313 flights on Saturday between Taichung and Okinawa's Naha Airport.

However, the airline added that not all flights between Taiwan and Okinawa have been cancelled, as its Saturday JX870 flight from Taoyuan International Airport to Naha is delayed until 2:40 p.m., while the returning JX871 flight has been delayed until 6:30 p.m.

In addition, an extra service JX1870 flight from Taoyuan to Naha is scheduled to take off at 5:40 p.m. on Saturday, while its returning JX1871 flight will depart at 9:30 p.m., Starlux said.

After announcing the cancellation of all Friday flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Taiwan's EVA Air late Thursday also announced the cancellation of all flights on the route for Saturday.

On sea transportation, Taiwan's Maritime and Port Bureau said that in preparation for the impending effects of Typhoon Dolphin's outer bands, several ferry services on the Keelung-Matsu route and the Houbihu (Pingtung County)-Orchid Island route on Thursday have been suspended.

On Friday, selected services on the Fugang (Taitung County)-Green Island route as well as services between Taiwan's offshore Matsu Islands and China's Fujian province will also be suspended, it said.

Meanwhile, all the services on the Keelung-Matsu route, the Chenggong (Taitung)-Green Island route and all routes to and from Orchid Island will be suspended Friday, the bureau said.

The bureau urged travelers to make use of available ferry services, such as the first one on Friday, to return to Taiwan early and postpone trips to outlying islands to avoid being stranded by subsequent suspensions.

According to Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA), Typhoon Dolphin was located about 1,120 kilometers east of Taipei as of 2 p.m. Thursday, with a storm radius of around 300 kilometers.

The typhoon is moving in a westbound direction at a speed of 17 kilometers per hour (kph), packing maximum sustained winds of 144 kph, CWA data showed, with forecasts showing that it will pass through the sea north of Taiwan between Saturday and Sunday, then move into China's Zhejiang province.

With the impending storm, the CWA said a sea warning could be issued as early as Friday afternoon, adding that a land warning could be imposed upon the offshore Matsu Islands on Saturday.

As Taiwan celebrates Fathers' Day on Aug. 8, the CWA said locations north of central Taiwan could celebrate the holiday amid heavy or even extremely heavy rain

Speaking with CNA on Thursday, CWA forecaster Chang Cheng-chuan (張承傳) observed that after the storm moves further away from Taiwan between Monday and Thursday, the nation will begin to experience southwesterly winds.

Taiwan will begin to see less rain, with only the western half of the island likely to see localized rain on Monday, while central and southern parts of the country could see localized rain or thunderstorms from next Tuesday to Thursday.

All other locations could see thunderstorms in the afternoon during those days, Chang added.