Taiwan issues land, sea alerts for Typhoon Gaemi

TAIPEI: Taiwan's meteorological agency has issued sea and land alerts for Typhoon Gaemi, which is expected to make landfall in Yilan County between late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, reported Xinhua.

As of 1pm on Tuesday, the centre of Typhoon Gaemi was located approximately 470 kilometres (km) southeast of Eluanbi, moving northwest with maximum sustained winds of around 144 km per hour.

The storm's radius is approaching the Bashi Channel and the sea areas southeast of Taiwan, posing a threat to New Taipei, Yilan, Hualien and Taitung.

The meteorological agency forecasts increasing winds and rainfall as the typhoon draws closer.

Typhoon Gaemi has forced the suspension of some ferry services, the cancellation of certain flights, and the closure or restricted access to several major tourist sites.

Meanwhile in Mongolia, the country's weather monitoring agency announced on Tuesday that continuous heavy rainfall has caused a significant rise in the water levels of all major rivers.

"The water levels in major rivers, including Eg, Beltes, Tuul, Yeruu, Onon, Kherlen, Selenge, and Orkhon have exceeded the warning levels by 40 centimetres (cm) to 105 cm due to heavy downpours since last weekend," the country's National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring said in a statement.

Heavy rains have been hitting large parts of the country since middle of July.

The agency warned residents living along the rivers to take all necessary precautions, while meteorologists forecast that short-term thunderstorms are expected over most parts of the country in the coming days.

-- BERNAMA