KENTING (TVBS News) — According to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB), Typhoon Saola was about 460 kilometers southeast of Cape Eluanbi as of Tuesday (Aug. 29) morning, moving northeast at 13 kilometers per hour.
The CWB issued a sea warning late Monday night and is expected to issue a land warning later today at 2:30 p.m. if Typhoon Saola remains in its current trajectory.
The typhoon is expected to come closest to Taiwan on Wednesday evening and Thursday.
Typhoon Saola, currently a moderate typhoon, will likely intensify as it nears Taiwan. The bureau said it packs max sustained winds near the center of 45 meters per second and gusts of up to 55 meters per second.
The CWB urged the public to be alert and avoid going to the beachside or mountainous areas, with Lanyu, Hengchun Peninsula, and Taitung in Southern Taiwan being affected by strong winds and heavy rain first.
Aside from Typhoon Saola, another Typhoon Haikui, also formed on Monday, is expected to move west-northwest at a faster speed and is likely to come closer to Typhoon Saola with around 1,000 kilometers apart from Sept. 1 to 3, according to WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu.
Whether Saola and Haikui will generate the Fujiwhara effect, a phenomenon that happens when two typhoons interact with each other, remains to be observed over the next few days.
