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Swimming banned at Kenting, 37.7 degrees in Tamshui

Heavy rain warning for South Taiwan

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Swimming was banned at Kenting Saturday.

Swimming was banned at Kenting Saturday. (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Heavy rain hit the beaches of southern Taiwan Saturday, while in the far north, the popular tourist destination of Tamshui was sweltering in 37.7 degrees temperature, its highest for the year so far.

The outer rim of a tropical depression to the south of Taiwan’s main island had the potential to bring torrential rain, lightning and strong gusts to Taitung County and to Pingtung County’s Hengchun Peninsula, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said.

The heavy rain already started Friday evening at Hengchun, which includes the Kenting area, home to some of Taiwan’s most popular beaches. The authorities raised red flags on the beaches Saturday morning, indicating that swimming was banned.

The warnings were valid for 24 hours, while the poor weather could also include rough seas in the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines and in the waters to the southeast, according to the CWB.

While excessive rain slammed the far south, the far north was continuing its spell of hot, dry weather Saturday. Tamshui, a favorite weekend destination for domestic and foreign tourists alike, recorded 37.7 degrees Celsius shortly after 12 noon, the CWB said.

Temperatures were only slightly lower in other parts of the north, including around 36 degrees in Banqiao, New Taipei City, and 35 degrees in Taipei City.

No immediate respite from the hot weather was likely, with the three tropical storms which emerged over the past few days not expected to affect the weather in Taiwan, experts said.

Storms Kulap and Noru were far from Taiwan, while Roke, which was named as the seventh tropical storm of the season just Saturday afternoon, was headed for China's Guangdong Province, forecasters said.