The Central Weather Bureau lifted a sea warning for Tropical Storm Kai-Tak yesterday, but warned of heavy downpours in areas of southern and southeastern Taiwan through the night and into today.
The bureau lifted the warning at 5:30pm in response to the storm’s weakening influence on Taiwan.
Kai-Tak, which had been heading northwest toward Taiwan’s southern coast, is now heading on a more westerly course, meaning that it is unlikely to make landfall in Taiwan, the bureau said.
However, the bureau said that ships in the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines, the waters near the Dongsha Islands (東沙群島, known as the Pratas Islands in English) in the South China Sea and in the southern area of the Taiwan Strait should be on the alert for strong winds and high waves.
As of 5:30pm, the storm was centered 320km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) at the southernmost tip of Taiwan, moving in west-northwestward at 21kph. According to the bureau, the storm could still cause heavy rainfall in parts of southeastern Taiwan and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan’s southern tip.