Northern Taiwan pelted with rain: flood warnings issued for Greater Taipei
Torrential rain caused by a confluence of a rainy season front and peripheral circulation from a tropical storm has caused flooding in parts of Taipei City and New Taipei City this afternoon, Friday, June 4.
The Central Weather Bureau issued a severe thunderstorm warning and extremely heavy rain warning for Taipei City, New Taipei City and Keelung City this afternoon, warning residents of Greater Taipei an surrounding mountain districts to be careful of instantaneous heavy rainfall which may “cause disasters.”
The Water Resources Department issued a Level 1 flood warning for Wenshan District, Xinyi District, Da’an District, and Nangang District in Taipei City; and Hsintien District and Pinglin District of New Taipei City.
In Taipei City’s Xinyi District, accumulated water caused flooding around Songren Road and Zhongxiao East Road. Police appealed to the public to pay attention to safety when driving.
Thunderstorms brought heavy rain starting at around 1:00 pm.
The intersection of Keelung Road and Zhongxiao East Road saw serious water accumulation which made it impossible for people or vehicles to pass.
The Taipei City Fire Department immediately established a disaster response center, and the municipal government stepped up inspections and opened pumping stations.
At 2:30 pm the Taipei City Government also opened the municipal disaster response center.
By 3:00 pm, 40 reports of flooded areas, one tree collapse, and three cases of people being trapped in elevators were reported.
Heavy rain and extremely heavy rain warnings have been issued for 16 counties and cities as a rainy season front descends from the north, and the season’s third named tropical storm Choi-Wan approaches from the south.
The CWB website showed that as of 2:30 pm, Taipei City saw an astonishing 234 millimeters of rain fall around Da’an District in just three hours. As of 2:50 pm, the largest accumulated rainfall was recorded at the National Taiwan University weather station at 300 mm.
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