TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday (Oct. 3) issued a land warning for Typhoon Koinu (小犬).
The land warning covers Pingtung County, Taitung County, and Hualien County. A sea warning issued for the typhoon on Monday evening (Oct. 2) now covers the Bashi Channel, offshore areas of northeast Taiwan, offshore areas of southeast Taiwan, and the south Taiwan Strait.
CWB map of Typhoon Koinu's projected path. (CWB image)
At 11:30 a.m., Typhoon Koinu was located 440 km east-southeast of Eluanbi and was moving northwest at a speed of 12 kph and turning west-northwest at a speed of 11 kph, said the CWB. It had a radius of 250 km and was packing maximum sustained winds of 162 kph with gusts of up to 198 kph.
The weather bureau has also issued a strong wind advisory for Taoyuan City, Hsinchu City, Hsinchu County, Miaoli County, Taichung City, Changhua County, Yunlin County, Chiayi County, Tainan City, Hengchun Peninsula, Orchid Island, Green Island, and Penghu County. The wind advisory will be in effect from Tuesday morning to Wednesday morning (Oct. 4).
Wind probability map. (CWB image)
CWB meteorologist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) at a Tuesday press conference predicted that Koinu's storm circle will begin to affect Tawian's southeastern coastal waters on Tuesday evening and will affect southeastern coastal areas by Wednesday morning.
Wu forecasted that from Wednesday to Friday (Oct. 6), Koinu would have the most significant impact on Taiwan, possibly passing through the southern tip of Taiwan or the Bashi Channel. The CWB's latest map predicted Koinu would make landfall on the Hengchun Peninsula at some point between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning (Oct. 5).