Taiwan issues typhoon landfall alert

World Today

Photo by Accu Weather

Coastal resorts in southern Taiwan were closed and all shipping was ordered to remain in harbor on Monday as a tropical storm approached the island, local disaster officials said.

Linfa (literally “Lotus”), this year’s 10th typhoon, had weakened to a tropical storm and entered the South China Sea on Monday. It was expected to make a landfall in southern Taiwan’s Pingtung County by Thursday, the local weather service said.

Kenting Park in Pingtung was closed at around 8:00 a.m. local time after the weather bureau issued a storm warning for the southern parts of the island.

About a dozen people who had been surfing in Kenting waters early in the morning were called to shore because of strong wind and dangerous waves.

“You can walk on the beach, but cannot step into the water,” said a park patroller.

The Kenting park and several other resorts in the south were subsequently closed due to security concerns.

Hotel occupancy rates in these regions dropped by 10 percent, according to local media.

“We knew that a typhoon was coming, but we had booked a room anyway,” said a tourist in Kenting.

Fishing was also brought to a stop on Monday, and fruit farmers were busy making preparations in their orchard against the bad weather.

Story by the Associated Press.