President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) stated Monday that all cities should prepare as Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to approach Taiwan, bringing heavy rains. Due to its unusual path, Hualien County has issued a red alert for the Fata’an River (Matai’an) area, meaning all evacuations are required. 

Fung-Wong, the 26th typhoon of the year, is currently expected to make landfall on Taiwan sometime between Wednesday and Thursday, bringing heavy rains to the island from Monday to Tuesday in its approach. The president urged all citizens to prepare for the storm and work together to minimize the storm’s damage – especially in cities and counties with a high landslide risk, which should be prioritized for evacuations. 

Typhoon Fung-Wong is currently located west of the Philippines’ Luzon island, where it made landfall as a super typhoon on Sunday, causing widespread damage. The storm is gradually turning north and is expected to pass over Taiwan sometime later this week, with a sea warning possible as early as Monday evening. 

The storm is also expected to bring significant rainfall to Taiwan, although it is likely to weaken as it continues towards the island. Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Chu Mei-lin (朱美霖) says that while a sea warning may be issued as early as Monday evening, a land warning is not likely until late Tuesday. 

Chu says the Greater Taipei area, eastern Taiwan, and the Hengchun peninsula may see rainfall intensify Monday night through Tuesday. However, as the storm continues moving north, the heavy rain will shift towards central and southern Taiwan, as well as the Hualien-Taitung region, on Wednesday. As the typhoon moves away on Thursday, most areas should see rainfall decrease, although localized storms are still possible in northern Taiwan.