Taiwan Today

Typhoon Parma, though decreasing in intensity, continues to tarry in the Bashi Channel, and will bring heavier rains, the Central Weather Bureau predicted Oct. 4. Parma was downgraded from a medium-strength to a weak typhoon at 10 p.m. Oct. 4. It could remain in the Bashi Channel for another day or two. Wu Wan-hua, CWB technical specialist, said under the influence of Parma’s periphery, the northern and eastern parts of Taiwan, as well as the Hengchun peninsula, central and southern mountains and the Pingtung area could all experience torrential rains. The Hengchun peninsula, within the typhoon warning area, should guard against powerful winds and heavy rains. During the spring tide coastal areas should take all precautions against seawater encroachment. Wu pointed out heavy rains fell in the mountains of Yilan Oct. 4, with 534 millimeters in Sanxing Township by 11 p.m. Rainfall in Ruifang Township, Taipei County reached 234 millimeters, with 166 millimeters on Yangmingshan in Taipei City and 155 millimeters in Binlang, Pingtung County. The CWB expects even more rain Oct. 5 from Typhoon Parma’s periphery. The CWB forecasts up to 1,000 millimeters of rain for mountainous regions of Yilan, with 800 millimeters possible in Hualien, Taitung and the Taipei mountains. Residents are advised to take all necessary precautions. The CWB has twice radically revised its forecasts for Parma’s path, due to the many interacting factors affecting its movements. Lee Cheng-shang, professor of atmospheric sciences at National Taiwan University, said Parma is this year’s “most mercurial” typhoon. Originally the CWB judged Parma would move to the west across the northern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines, but later reckoned the influence of Typhoon Melor would cause it to travel in a more easterly direction, for a 180 degree change in its predicted route. Daniel Wu, director of the CWB’s forecast center, said the original prediction for Melor was a more northerly path, but it instead went more to the west. Weather bureaus around the world, including the CWB, have radically altered their predictions for Parma’s course. All international weather forecasters predict Parma will proceed very slowly to the southwest. The path calculated by the weather bureaus in Hong Kong and Taiwan have it going in a more south-southwesterly direction, while the United States Armed Forces predict a more southwesterly route. It will linger in the Bashi Channel for some time, but further observation is needed to determine where it will move from there. (THN)