Taipei:The land warning for Typhoon Champi is expected to be lifted Saturday evening as the storm moves away from Taiwan, According to Central Weather Administration (CWA).
According to Focus Taiwan, Wu Wan-hua, deputy director of the CWA's Weather Forecast Center, mentioned that Champi is likely to weaken into a tropical storm by Saturday afternoon, with the sea warning anticipated to be lifted later that night. The CWA initially issued a sea warning for Champi late Wednesday, followed by a land warning on Thursday morning.
As the storm weakened, its radius decreased to 250 kilometers from 280 kilometers, and the cloud system became more scattered. Wu noted that rainfall brought by the storm was expected to ease by Saturday morning. As of 10 a.m. Saturday, Typhoon Champi was centered approximately 170 kilometers east-northeast of Yilan County, moving north at 21 kph, with maximum sustained winds of 126 kph and gusts up to 162 kph.
The Central Emergency Operations Center (CEOC) reported one death and 527 injuries in Taiwan due to strong winds and heavy rains from Champi as of Saturday morning. The fatality occurred in Liuqiu Township, Pingtung County, where a man was swept away by waves on a beach. Most injuries were reported in Taipei and Taichung cities, primarily caused by downed trees, falling electricity cables and billboards, and damaged water pipes.
Although the worst of the typhoon's impact has passed, windward areas in western Taiwan continue to experience heavy rain, particularly in the mountainous regions of Miaoli County. An extremely heavy rain advisory or a heavy rain advisory is in effect for several northern and central areas, including mountainous regions of Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan cities, Hsinchu, and Miaoli counties, as well as parts of central and southern Taiwan.
Rainfall is expected to taper off from Saturday night through early Sunday morning, with precipitation likely to stop in southern, southeastern, and eastern Taiwan by Sunday morning. Winds triggered by Champi are also anticipated to weaken, although waves remain high, especially in waters north and east of Taiwan.
