Thursday, July 24, 2014

Typhoon Matmo spares Taiwan major damage

Jenny Hsu in the Wall Street Journal: Typhoon Matmo brought fierce winds and torrential rain to Taiwan on Wednesday injuring at least 10 people, but sparing the island major damage. The typhoon made landfall around 12 a.m. local time Wednesday in the eastern coastal counties of Taitung and Hualien and has dumped some 600 millimeters of rain in the mountainous areas, according to the Central Weather Bureau.

Taiwan's Central Emergency Operation Center reported at least nine noncritical injuries related to the typhoon. The weather bureau said Matmo moved out to sea at about 4:20 a.m. and is expected to hit eastern China later Wednesday. At about noon on Wednesday was moving northwesterly at approximately 20 kilometers per hour with maximum sustained winds of 155 kilometers per hour.

Schools and offices across Taiwan were closed on Wednesday because of the storm. Trading on the Taiwan stock exchange and foreign-exchange markets was also halted. The strong wind shattered windows, uprooted trees, washed out at least one bridge, and disrupted electricity in the county of Hualien on the east coast of the island, affecting about 30,000 residents.

Taiwan's airport authority said that 43 international flights to and from Taoyuan International Airport were canceled Wednesday morning. A handful of domestic flights were also been suspended. Most rail services had resumed after earlier disruptions....

Typhoon Matmo, via NASA, July 24, 2014

No comments: