Taiwan braces for typhoon Fanapi

TAIPEI, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- Counties and cities in Taiwan are bracing for the approaching typhoon Fanapi, as the local meteorological department forecasts it will make landfall over the eastern part of Taiwan early Sunday morning.

Taitung, Yilan and Hualien counties announced schools were suspended as of Saturday night. Nantou county has evacuated some local residents living in danger areas in advance.

The Maokong cable car, the longest one in Taiwan has halted operations.

Tsengwen Reservoir, Taiwan's largest reservoir, has begun discharging water since Saturday noon, in preparation for heavy rains brought by Fanapi.

TransAsia Airways, Mandarin Airlines and Uni Air have announced the cancellation of some Sunday flights.

Some local farmers in Taitung County were racing against time to harvest crops, and fishing boats have returned to harbor.

The eye of Fanapi was 420 kilometers east from Hualien County, as of Saturday noon, according to the local meteorological department.

Taiwan will be prominently affected by Fanapi on Sunday and Monday, according to the forecast.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-09/18/c_13518590.htm

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NASA eyes Typhoon Fanapi approaching Taiwan

NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Typhoon Fanapi on Sept. 17 at 04:45 UTC (12:45 a.m. EDT) and captured this infrared image of its cold cloudtop temperatures. The coldest cloud tops were as cold as -60F, and the imagery showed a tight center circulation. Credit: NASA JPL, Ed Olsen

Infrared satellite data from NASA's Aqua satellite revealed strong convection and a tight circulation center within Typhoon Fanapi as it heads for a landfall in Taiwan this weekend.

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At 1500 UTC (10 a.m. EDT) on Sept. 17, Typhoon Fanapi's maximum sustained winds were near 85 knots (97 mph). It was centered about 360 nautical miles east-southeast of Taipei, Taiwan near 23.2 North and 127.4 East. It is churning up high seas up to 22 feet.

NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Typhoon Fanapi on September 17 at 04:45 UTC (12:45 a.m. EDT) and captured an infrared image of its cold cloudtop temperatures. The coldest cloud tops were as cold as -60F, and the imagery showed a tight center circulation at that time.

Infrared imagery today continues to show Fanapi consolidating. The typhoon is on the border of becoming a Category 2 typhoon on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane/typhoon scale. Infrared imagery also showed that Fanapi has an 11 mile-wide eye, and that there's a small gap in the eyewall in the northern part of the circulation. Because vertical wind shear is expected to increase over the next 12 to 24 hours, Fanapi is expected to weaken at that time.

Another instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite captured a visible image of Typhoon Fanapi. To see the image that the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument captured of Typhoon Fanapi on September 17 at 04:45 UTC, go to: http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2010260-0917/Fanapi.A2010260.0445.

Fanapi is now moving northwest at 6 mph and is expected to make landfall on Sept. 19 during the morning hours local Asia/Taipei time (late Sept. 18 EDT). Fanapi is forecast to cross Taiwan from east to west and then emerge into the Taiwan Strait as a tropical storm and make a final landfall in eastern China on Sept. 20.

http://www.physorg.com/news203959323.html

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Typhoon Fanapi hits Taiwan

Typhoon Fanapi has made landfall near Taiwan's east coast, bringing with it heavy rains and winds of more than 200km per hour (kph).

The Central Weather Bureau said Fanapi reached Hualien city in eastern Taiwan at 8.40pm local time [0040 GMT] on Sunday, with gusts of up to 220kph after picking up speed.

TV footage from Hualien showed branches torn off trees and a lorry upturned while driving along an exposed stretch of road.

Trees were uprooted in Taipei, the country's capital, and in the southern city of Kaohsiung, while television images showed a traffic light toppled by the powerful gusts.

Fanapi, which means "small atoll islands" in Micronesian, is expected to hit the south coast of China on Monday.

The Chinese government evacuated 150,000 people amid a warning over what authorities said could be the fiercest typhoon of the year to hit the region.

Deadly storm

Memories are still raw in Taiwan of the onslaught of Typhoon Morakot in 2009, which left more than 700 people dead or missing in one of the island's worst natural disasters.

Morakot triggered a storm of criticism of Ma Ying-jeou, the Taiwanese president, and his administration for reacting too late.

In an effort to show a more proactive approach, Ma presided over a video conference on Saturday with local officials, urging measures to prevent major damage from the typhoon.

Some train services and all domestic flight were cancelled, while several international flights were called off.

The National Fire Agency said more than 6,000 people had been evacuated from mountainous areas.

Television footage showed Taiwan's defence forces deploying armoured personnel carriers for duty in case of floods and other emergencies.

In southeastern China, authorities were on high alert after the national meteorological centre warned that Fanapi was expected to hit the coastal areas of Guangdong and Fujian provinces after passing through Taiwan.

The official Xinhua news agency said more than 55,000 fishing boats had come back to port in Fujian in anticipation of the dangerous winds.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/09/201091962442975457.html

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Three dead in accidents linked to Typhoon Fanapi

(CNN) -- Three people died in accidents linked to Typhoon Fanapi's approach to Taiwan, where the storm made landfall Sunday morning, Taiwan's official news agency reported.

Early Saturday, a 76-year-old woman who was trying to harvest her crops before Fanapi's arrival apparently fell from a terraced hill into a river in Pingsi Township in Taipei County, the Central News Agency reported. She was found drowned.

Two junior-high school students in the northern county of Taoyuan died Saturday morning, CNA said.

They were among a group of seven students who were visiting the flooded Taoyuan Canal when a girl slipped off the bank in the rain, CNA said, citing police.

Three boys jumped into the water to rescue her. Only two of the would-be rescuers made it to safety; the other and the girl died, it said.

As of 5 a.m. Sunday (5 p.m. Saturday ET), Fanapi had strengthened with sustained winds of 121 mph (195 kph) and gusts of up to 149 mph (241 kph), according to the U.S. Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

According to CNN models, Taiwan can expect 3.1 inches (80 mm) to 9.8 inches (250 mm) of rain, with isolated amounts reaching close to 19.7 inches (500 mm) of rain in the coming 48 hours.

Schools in Taitung, Yilan and Hualien counties suspended classes as of Saturday night, and Nantou County evacuated some residents, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency said.

Taipei's Maokong gondola, a cable-car transport system, has halted operations, Xinhua said.

Tsengwen Reservoir, Taiwan's largest, began discharging water Saturday at noon so that it would be able to accommodate Fanapi's rains, the news agency reported.

TransAsia Airways, Mandarin Airlines and Uni Air canceled some Sunday flights and fishing boats in Taitung County returned to harbor, it said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/09/18/taiwan.typhoon/index.html

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Typhoon hands Thaworn win

Thai veteran Thaworn Wiratchant won the inaugural Yeangder Tournament Players Championship after it was reduced to a 54-stroke play tournament due to Typhoon Fanapi which hit Taipei.

The 43-year-old carded a two-under-par 70 on Saturday to move into a one-stroke lead at Linkou International Golf Club but with winds of 162 kilometres per hour hitting the region, the final round was declared unplayable and officials shortened the event to three rounds.

The victory was Thaworn's 12th on the Asian Tour and means he holds the joint record amount of wins on the circuit along with compatriot and reigning Order of Merit winner Thongchai Jaidee.

"I'm happy to have won my 12th Asian Tour title this week. It does not really matter whether I won it after 54 or 72 holes. As long as I did it, I'm happy," he said.

"Now that I've won my 12th title, I'm looking forward to extending my winning record on the Asian Tour."

Fellow Thai Chinnarat Phadungsil finished second following a third-round 67 while Malaysia's Iain Steel claimed third place after carding a 71.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5gn9ymUz3KgoJ4PZnbJu_cPIMmI3A

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Typhoon Fanapi sweeps into Taiwan

A powerful typhoon has swept into Taiwan, closing schools and offices and disrupting transport.

Typhoon Fanapi made landfall near the east-coast city of Hualien with heavy rain and winds up to 198km/h (123mph).

Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau has warned of a risk of landslides in mountainous areas.

Last year more than 700 people were killed and thousands left homeless by floods and mudslides caused by Typhoon Morakot.

Fanapi - a category three typhoon - is forecast to reach the south-east of mainland China later on Sunday or by Monday morning.

TV stations aired footage of branches being ripped from trees in Hualien and a lorry overturned while driving along an exposed stretch of road.

Torrential rain and high winds were also reported in the capital Taipei and the southern city of Kaohsiung.

Train services and flights have been disrupted or cancelled and Taiwan's defence forces have deployed armoured personnel carriers in case of floods or other emergencies, local media reported.

Fire and rescue officials said that about 6,500 people in mountainous areas prone to mudslides were evacuated late on Saturday.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11360782

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