Taiwan faces second storm in a fortnight by Steph Ball
A tropical storm developed east of Taiwan on Thursday and is expected to move towards the island, making landfall possibly late Sunday or early Monday.
The storm, given the name Fung-wong, was recording winds of just 40mph (65 km/h) on Friday morning. Over the weekend the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) has the storm strengthening to a typhoon just before it makes landfall in Taiwan.
If the forecast is right, this will be the second storm to hit the country in just over a week. Last Thursday Taiwan was hit by Typhoon Kalmaegi. Although winds had weakened somewhat before Kalmaegi hit, the storm brought torrential downpours triggering flash floods and landslides. It delivered as much as 1120mm (44 inches) of rain within a 24hour period.
Elsewhere in the Western Pacific, New Zealand is also preparing itself for a major winter storm which is expected to hit this weekend. Low pressure over the Tasman Sea is expected to deepen rapidly overnight and approach northern New Zealand Saturday morning. This unusually intense low is expected to bring heavy rain and severe gales, with up to 200mm (8 inches) of rain forecast for some areas.
