Typhoon churns towards Taiwan

BEIJING: China’s National Meteorological Center has warned that Typhoon Talim could intensify and turn into a super typhoon as it churns towards Taiwan and Zhejiang and Fujian provinces on the mainland.

The meteorological agency issued a blue alert, the lowest in a four-tier colour-coded system for severe weather.

The eye of Talim was 1,040km southeast of Taiwan’s Yilan county yesterday morning, packing winds of up to 118kph.

Talim is expected to hit the northern parts of Taiwan the hardest today.

The storm will then move northwest at a speed of 25 to 30kph towards the coast of Zhejiang and Fujian, making landfall tomorrow or early Friday, according to China’s meteorological center.

It also warned of a tropical depression 205km east of Manila in the Philippines, saying it could gather strength and become a typhoon in the next 12 hours.

Late last month, Typhoon Hato pummelled Macau with winds of more than 200kph and wreaked havoc in the nearby financial hub of Hong Kong. — Reuters