Taiwan’s weather authorities have warned residents of heavy rain and strong winds starting today as Typhoon Saola skirts the island’s southern coast on its way to China’s southern coast.
The typhoon is moving northwest with sustained winds of 162 km/h and gusts of up to 198 km/h, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau. The typhoon’s eye will not hit Taiwan’s mainland, but is expected to graze the island’s southern cities with its outer bands.
In Macau, the typhoon is expected to enter within 800 km of Macau tonight. According to the latest forecast of Meteorological and Geophysics Bureau (SMG), Typhoon Saola will move westwards, generally heading towards the eastern part of Guangdong.
“As Saola might interact with Tropical Cyclone Haikui later this week, there are still uncertainties about the trajectory and the location of Saola,” it noted yesterday.
The typhoon is then expected to hit southern Fujian and Guangdong provinces in China’s south.
Saola caused flooding in the northern part of the Philippines over the last few days. Hundreds of people have been displaced, but no casualties have been reported. LV
