Stay away from coasts and mountains, warns Taiwan PMpublished at 01:35 BST
Taiwanese authorities issued urgent safety warnings on Thursday ahead of Typhoon Champi’s arrival.
After an emergency briefing, Prime Minister Cho Jung-Tai urged the public to avoid all high-risk areas.
“After making landfall, it will envelop all of Taiwan. It will slowly leave Taiwan on the 24th and 25th,” Lu Kuo-chen, director of the Central Weather Administration (CWA), said at a news conference, adding that the winds would be strongest from Friday to Saturday.
National Fire Agency Chief Secretary Cheng Chih Chiang asked Taiwan’s east coast local board to evacuate residents living downstream of the Wanli Creek anti-landslide dam in Hualien.
The dam contained five million tons of water as of Thursday morning, according to Prime Minister Cho, and there is a risk it could break during the storm.
Cheng urged the public to stay away from mountainous areas, coves and beaches, even after Champi leaves Taiwan.
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