More than 1,200 evacuated as Typhoon Parma nears

Taipei, Oct. 4 (CNA) More than 1,200 residents in mudslide-prone areas of four counties around the nation had been evacuated as of 1 p.m. Sunday amid the threat of Typhoon Parma, which was forecast to hit Taiwan after slamming into the Philippines the previous day.

"As of 1 p.m. Sunday, 1,241 residents in 10 townships and villages in four counties -- Nantou, Chiayi, Kaohsiung and Pingtung -- had been evacuated over mudslide concerns, " the Central Emergency Operations Center said in a statement.

The evacuation was part of the government's efforts to avoid a repeat of the tragedy caused by Typhoon Morakot in early August, when the storm triggered massive flooding and devastating landslides in southern Taiwan that buried various mountain villages and left more than 700 people dead or missing.

According to the center, rainfall spawned by Typhoon Parma was concentrated in the mountains of northeastern Taiwan's Yilan County and the northern county of Taipei.

From Saturday midnight through 1 p.m. Sunday, 129.5 mm of precipitation had been recorded in Juifang, Taipei County, with 124.5 mm in Yilan's Tatung township and 112 m.m. in the county's Tungshan township, center officials said.

The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) originally predicted that Parma could bring up to 1,100 mm of rainfall to Taiwan's mountainous regions, but later lowered the forecast to 800 mm, with the mountains of northern and eastern Taiwan receiving the worst of it.

The bureau issued a land warning for Typhoon Parma for the Hengchun peninsula in southern Taiwan at 5:30 a.m. Sunday.

Since then, however, the storm had been swirling around in the Bashi Channel that separates Taiwan from the Philippines and its speed had slowed to 4 kph.

The CWB's typhoon report had not mentioned Parma's speed since 8: 30 a.m. that day, with all follow-up reports saying only that the typhoon was in the Bashi Channel and moving slowly on a west-northwesterly trajectory.

CWB meteorologists said it was difficult to predict whether Typhoon Parma would move east or west because several factors -- a high pressure system in South Asia, a cold front from the north, a high pressure system in the Pacific Ocean and another typhoon, Melor -- could affect its movement.

Noting that Typhoon Melor was moving fast from southeast of Taiwan in a west-northwesterly direction, the weathermen said Melor was likely to come closer than 1,500 km to Parma over the next two days.

By then, they said, a drag effect will appear between the two typhoons, although they added that it remained to be seen whether Melor would drag Parma northeast or southwest.

Lee Ching-sheng, a meteorology professor at National Taiwan University, echoed the CWB weathermen's views on Parma's unpredictability, saying many factors could affect its course.

Whatever course the typhoon takes, however, the government was determined to make every possible effort to minimize the chances of disaster.

It had been taking precautionary measures since Saturday, with President Ma Ying-jeou, Premier Wu Den-yih and other Cabinet members inspecting disaster prevention and response preparations in coastal and mountainous areas and the military assisting in evacuating mountain villagers.

Typhoon Morakot caused heavy human casualties and property damage in Taiwan and led to a major Cabinet reshuffle, with Wu replacing Liu Chao-shiuan as premier. Political analysts said Typhoon Parma will test the new Cabinet's competence and operational efficiency.