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2001 WORST YEAR ON RECORD FOR TYPHOONS IN TAIWAN Already this year Taiwan has suffered eight typhoons which have killed a record 300 people. The National Science Council has openly blamed climate change for the dramatic increase in typhoon activity. EIGHTH TYPHOON THIS YEAR BEARS DOWN
ON TAIWAN TAIPEI - In Taiwan's worst year for typhoons on record, workers piled sandbags along riverbanks and around buildings yesterday as a new storm approached - just a week after wind, rain and floods killed almost 100 people. The Central Weather Bureau issued both sea and land warnings for the eighth typhoon to threaten this year, and told residents to prepare for floods and mudslides. Weather forecasters said Typhoon Lekima, moving very slowly towards Taiwan from the Luzon Strait, was packing strengthening winds and torrential rain. Lekima has already brought heavy rain to most parts of the island, causing landslides in mountainous areas and blocking roads and air traffic to outlying islands. But there were no immediate reports of major damage. Offices and schools in the eastern county of Taitung would be closed on Wednesday while neighbouring Hualien County was prepared to evacuate residents living in mountainous areas, the state-funded Central News Agency said. Taiwan is still cleaning up after Typhoon Nari slammed into the island last week, leaving 94 dead and 10 people missing and causing more than T$2.91 billion (US$84 million) in farm losses. "We are not only worried. We are very scared," said an elementary school teacher as she helped scour away a thick layer of mud covering the campus in Hsichih outside Taipei. Lekima's slow pace indicated its impact on Taiwan could last for days - possibly 72 hours - while picking up more water at sea, much like Nari, weather forecasters said. The storm was 180 km (112 miles) southeast of the southern coastal town of O-luan-pi at 1000 GMT with maximum sustained winds of 130 kph (81 mph) and gusts of up to 165 kph (103 mph). If the storm stayed on its current course, it could hit southern Taiwan by Yesterday evening, the weather bureau said. WORST TYPHOON YEAR So far this year, typhoons have claimed more than 300 lives in Taiwan, making 2001 the worst year for typhoons on record, official statistics show. Premier Chang Chun-hsiung told a parliamentary session a fireworks display planned for October 10 National Day celebrations would be cancelled, to let the government focus on recovery work. In a report, the cabinet's National Science Council blamed global warming for the disasters. Typhoons and tropical storms frequently hit Taiwan, the Philippines, Hong Kong and other parts of the southern coast of China during the summer months. In July, Typhoon Toraji - one of the deadliest to hit Taiwan - killed about 200 people and caused more than $173 million in damage. Nari hovered off Taiwan for more than a week before pounding the island last week, dumping record amounts of rain that turned roads in Taipei into canals carrying torrents of water past second-storey windows in the capital's worst-ever flooding. The government launched a massive clean-up campaign, mobilising thousands of soldiers and workers to pump floodwaters out of subway stations and basements.
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