Typhoon Saola to bring heavy rain to southern, eastern Taiwan

颱風“蘇拉”將為台灣南部和東部帶來大雨

Pingtung, Hualien, Taitung to see heavy rain, strong wind gusts, big waves from Saola


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) upgraded Saola to a very strong typhoon on Tuesday evening (Aug. 29) and Pingtung County, Hualien County, and Taitung County are expected to see heavy wind and powerful wind gusts.

As of 9:15 a.m., Typhoon Saola was 200 km south of Eluanbi moving west-northwest at 12 kph, turning northwest at 13 kph, according to the CWB. It had a radius of 190 km and was packing maximum sustained winds of 183 kph, with gusts of up to 226 kph.

The land warning is still in effect for Pingtung County. In addition, a sea warning is in place for the Bashi Channel, Dongsha Islands, offshore areas of southeast Taiwan, and the Taiwan Strait.

An extremely heavy rain advisory is in effect for the Hengchun Peninsula, while a heavy rain advisory was issued for Hualien County and Taitung County, including Orchid Island and Green Island, from late Wednesday (Aug. 30) afternoon to the evening. The CWB also issued a strong wind advisory for the Hengchun Peninsula and Taitung County for Wednesday.

At a press conference on Wednesday morning, CWB forecaster Lin Ping-yu (林秉煜) said Saola's wind circle will encroach on the Hengchun Peninsula around noon. Lin said localized heavy rains are likely in Hualien County, Taitung County, and the Hengchun Peninsula, while northern Taiwan and the western half of the country could see sporadic rainfall.

Lin predicted that in Taoyuan City and areas south to the Kaohsiung area, high temperatures will soar to over 36 degrees Celsius.

In addition, Lin said that on Wednesday there will be strong gusts of level 9 to 10 winds on the Beaufort Scale on Orchid Island, Green Island, the Hengchun Peninsula, and open coastal areas in the southeast. He also predicted level 8 to 9 gusts in the open coastal areas north of Hsinchu county as well as Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu.

Lin pointed out that in southeast Taiwan, the Hengchun Peninsula, and the southern coast would see wave heights of more than six meters. Large waves of more than three meters are also likely along the coastal areas of the rest of Taiwan proper as well as Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu.

Furthermore, coinciding with the annual tidal surge, during the period of high tide, coastal low-lying areas should be alert to seawater intrusion and potential flooding.

Lin said the current distance between Severe Tropical Storm Haikui and Typhoon Saola is about 1,400 to 1,600 km. It is estimated that Haikui will reach near the Ryukyu Islands on Sept. 1 and 2, and the interaction with Saola must continue to be observed. In addition, late on Wednesday night, Tropical Depression TD13 formed to the east of the Philippines far away from Taiwan and is presently not anticipated to have a direct impact on the country.