News
Typhoon agricultural losses top NT$250 million
Officials say agricultural losses from Typhoon Haikui reached an estimated NT$258 million as of 17:00 on Monday and may continue to rise.
According to preliminary figures from the Ministry of Agriculture, Taitung County, where the storm made landfall on Sunday afternoon, was the hardest-hit area, racking up NT$210 million in damage to date. That's around 81% of the total seen in Taiwan.
Hualien County reported losses of NT$24 million, around 10% of the total, while Pingtung County and Kaohsiung reported NT$13 million and NT$8.5 million in losses, respectively.
In terms of crop type, the ministry said farmers growing sugar apples, bananas, citrus fruits, citron daylilies and papayas had suffered the worst damage from the storm. Local officials estimate that Taitung County's agricultural losses could top NT$600 million.
Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung says the ministry would make available emergency financial support and low-interest loans to farmers in Taitung, and was looking at expediting the access by using official weather data, rather than on-site inspections, to authorise the payments.
Some schools and offices remain closed today, due to the periphery effects of the departing Tropical Storm Haikui. Parts of Kaohsiung City and Yilan County will see work and classes cancelled today while Taitung County will see both cancelled in some areas, but other areas may continue with work while classes are suspended. This comes after the Central Weather Bureau lifted its land warning for Taiwan proper last night, as Haikui continued to move westward toward southeastern China.
Forecasters say that heavy rains in the south and Yilan and Hualien Counties will likely ease today. Meanwhile, the CWB said a tropical depression that has been observed in the sea some 980 km southeast of Taiwan could likely develop into a tropical storm today. But the bureau says the storm is unlikely to affect the country as it is forecast to move northward toward Japan.
Meanwhile, flights, ferries and road traffic are expected to be affected by Typhoon Haikui on Tuesday, despite the Central Weather Bureau lifting its land warning for Taiwan proper after Haikui was downgraded to a tropical storm on Monday.
Domestic carrier UNI Air has announced cancellations of all flights from cities in Taiwan proper to the offshore county of Kinmen before noon today, while Mandarin Airlines cancelled four round-trip flights between those locations for today.
The Maritime and Port Bureau said a total of 106 ferry services have been cancelled on Tuesday, including all services between Keelung and Matsu Islands, as well as those between ports in Matsu and the Chinese city of Fuzhou, and between Kinmen County and China's Xiamen City.
All services between Xiaoliuqiu Island and ports of Yanpu and Dongang in Pingtung County also will remain suspended, as well as services linking Budai Township, Chiayi County and Magong City, Penghu County.
Services between Jiangjun fishing port in Tainan and Penghu's Dongji Islet, and some to Green Island and Orchid Island in Taitung County have been cancelled on Tuesday, according to the maritime authorities.
