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Typhoon Hato poised to strike Taiwan as sea warning issued

CWB issues sea warning for Typhoon Hato

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Typhoon Hato poised to pounce on Taiwan. (Windy.com image)

Typhoon Hato poised to pounce on Taiwan. (Windy.com image)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday issued a sea warning for the waters off southern Taiwan as well as the Bashi Channel as Typhoon Hato nears, and if the storm maintains its present course, the CWB will issue a land warning by noon on Monday.

As of 11:30 p.m. Sunday, the 13th typhoon of the year, Typhoon Hato, was located 20.1. degrees North and 126.1 degrees East, which is about 570 kilometers east-southeast of Taiwan's southernmost tip of Eluanbi, and was moving in a westerly direction toward the Bashi Channel at a speed of 16 kilometers per hour.

It was carrying winds of 64.8 kilometers per hour, with gusts of up to 90 kilometers per hour, according to CWB data.

According to CWB forecaster Wu I-fan (吳依帆), the typhoon's center is moving in a west-northwest direction toward the Bashi Strait and is threatening the seas off southeastern Taiwan and the Baishi Strait itself.

Wu explained that Taiwan will experience the strongest effects of the typhoon throughout Monday and into Tuesday. He said Hato is likely to make landfall on the Hengchun Peninsula in the south of the island and it is there that Taiwan will bear the brunt of the storm.

Wu said that if the typhoon does not deviate from its present course, the CWB will issue a land warning at noon on Monday. Therefore, the CWB urged people in southern Taiwan to brace for impact from Typhoon Hato.