TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Even though Tropical Storm Lupit was downgraded to a depression Friday (Aug. 6), most of south Taiwan still decided to order schools and offices to remain closed the following day.

The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) was predicting torrential rain for all of the country, while flooding and landslides had already hit several counties, including Yunlin and Changhua on the west coast.

Pingtung County, which includes the popular beach resort of Kenting, said forecasts from the CWB showed that the levels of rainfall expected Saturday (Aug. 7) were sufficient to have offices and schools remain closed for the whole day, the Liberty Times reported. Kaohsiung, Tainan, Chiayi City, Chiayi County and the Taichung City district of Heping followed suit, announcing their decisions later in the evening.

In Pingtung County, 152 people were forced to leave their residence in the township of Laiyi due to fears of flooding. A local measuring station recorded 462 millimeters of rain from the morning of Aug. 4 until 6 p.m. Friday, with 132 mm recorded between noon and 3 p.m. Friday.

Lupit was expected to move out of China and in the direction of north Taiwan during the weekend, with some theories predicting it might regain enough strength to become a tropical storm again, reports said.