Taipei, Nov. 6, (dpa/GNA) – Taiwan was gearing up on Friday for potentially dangerous wind and heavy rain as Tropical Storm Atsani approached the south of the island.
Atsani, in the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines, was about 100 kilometres southeast of Taiwan’s southernmost point as of early Friday. It is expected to reach the Hengchun Peninsula in southern Taiwan on Saturday, according to the Central Weather Bureau.
The storm, with a radius of 120 kilometres, was carrying maximum sustained winds of 28 metres per second, with gusts of up to 35 metres per second, the bureau said.
Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung on Friday urged residents to stay away from beaches and stay alert to upcoming heavy rain in southern Taiwan and eastern counties of Hualien and Taitung.
On Friday, schools and businesses in some townships in southern Pingtung County and on two offshore islets of eastern Taiwan were closed. Local ferry services there were also suspended.
A land warning for Atsani was issued late Thursday, hours after the issue of a sea warning. Officials said Atsani is the first major storm in 2020 to hit landfall in Taiwan, and only the fifth since 2000 that required storm warnings in the month of November.
GNA