Military prepares for approaching tropical storm
ROC Central News Agency
2013/07/17 16:48:17
Taipei, July 17 (CNA) The military said Wednesday that it has opened an emergency center and has thousands of servicemen on standby for disaster relief operations as Tropical Storm Cimaron approaches Taiwan.
More than 47,000 servicemen are ready to provide relief and rescue assistance, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement.
Nine S-70C rescue helicopters, 13 UH-1H choppers and 13 C-130 transport planes are also ready to be dispatched as needed, it added.
The statement came after the Central Weather Bureau issued a sea warning for Tropical Storm Cimaron earlier in the day, warning boats operating on the Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines to be on alert.
The bureau also warned that the tropical storm's outer rim is likely to bring torrential rain to mountainous areas in the eastern counties of Hualien and Taitung, as well as to the Hengchun peninsula in southern Taiwan.
Mountainous areas in western Taiwan are also likely to see heavy rain, the bureau added.
As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, the storm was centered some 260 km south of Eluanbi on the southernmost tip of Taiwan, moving in a northwesterly direction at a speed of 19 kph, the weather bureau said.
According to the bureau's projections, the eye of the storm will miss Taiwan to the south and make landfall on China's southeastern coast early July 19.
(By Elaine Hou)
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