Truemors
6pm update: Several cities and counties have declared tomorrow Monday 29 September a typhoon day. Taipei will announce its decision in a few hours.
Taiwan's Taoyuan International Airport is now officially closed
It's just gone 5pm here in Taipei and we are now locked down for at least the next 8-15 hours. Typhoon Jangmi is the strongest typhoon to hit Taiwan this year. It's packing winds up to 227kmph.
My apartment is shaking and an unsecured table smashed one of my windows.
Reports are coming in that a bus with 50 people in it was blown over in Yilan county.
In separate incidents, at least two people have been reported washed away. Thousands of homes are without power and there has been a rock slide in Taipei.
Pizza delivery in Taipei has been suspended.
Below is the latest report in English from International Community Radio Taipei:
Typhoon update 5 PM
Close to 30,000 households are without power as the strongest typhoon of the year bears down on northern Taiwan.
Typhoon Jangmi is packing wind speeds of over 180 km per hour with gusts up to 227.
The storm's strength is now being felt in downtown Taipei city...motorcyclists are unable to ride and trees and signs are flying around the streets. A rock slide in the mountains of Taipei's NanGang district is blocking access for residents.
Jangmi made landfall at just before 4 PM near the fishing town of Suao in Hualien county.
Waves currently lashing the Yilan coast are over 4 stories high. Several reports are coming in of people being swept away by high water...including a motorcyclist in Nantou county who has disappeared after a road running along a river caved in. Rescuers are trying to locate the person, but the weather conditions are making rescues practically impossible.
Transportation across Taiwan has been disrupted. Authorities are asking people to refrain from driving along the Suao-Hualien coastal highway. A bus traveling along the #5 freeway near the city of Yilan has been flipped on its side due to strong winds...50 passengers on the bus were slightly injured. All trains on the High Speed rail have been suspended as of 3 PM. Taipei's MRT system is still running. Pizza delivery in Taipei, however, has been suspended.
At least 13 bridges across the island -- mostly in mountainous or rural areas -- have been deemed unsafe for use during the storm and local authorities have closed off most of them.
CWB forecasters warn that in the next 24 hours, mountainous areas could receive up to 1000 millimeters of rain, possibly triggering flash floods and landslides. Authorities are asking citizens to stay away from mountainous areas.
Taiwan's cities and counties will make decisions as to whether to suspend work and school for tomorrow within the next hour or so.
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