Taipei: The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has issued warnings of destructive winds to parts of Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Pingtung County after Typhoon Podul made landfall in southeastern Taiwan at around 1 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon.

According to Focus Taiwan, as of 2 p.m., the typhoon was moving west-northwest at a speed of 31 kilometers per hour (kph), packing maximum sustained winds of 89 kph, with gusts of up to 119 kph. The CWA projected that Podul would move out to sea near Tainan at around 5 p.m.

The CWA warned that districts such as Qigu, Jiangjun, and Beimen in Tainan, Xiaogang and Linyuan in Kaohsiung, and Donggang, Fangliao, Linbian, Xinyuan, and Jiadong in Pingtung County will experience sustained winds of up to 118 kilometers per hour or gusts reaching 150 kph as the typhoon passes through. Residents in these areas are advised to seek shelter immediately and avoid elevated roads, bridges, and overpasses. Additionally, they should stay clear of objects that can be easily blown away by strong winds, such as scaffolding, windows, trees, or vehicles. The winds are expected to persist well into Wednesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the CWA has issued heavy rain advisories across most of Taiwan, effective through early Thursday morning. Torrential rain warnings have been issued for Hualien County, Taitung County, and mountainous regions in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, indicating rainfall exceeding 350 millimeters in 24 hours or 200 mm in three hours. Extremely heavy rain advisories warn of accumulated rain exceeding 200 mm in 24 hours or over 100 mm in three hours for areas including Tainan, Kaohsiung, Chiayi County, Pingtung County, mountainous regions in Yilan County, and the outlying Green Island and Orchid Island.

Additionally, heavy rain advisories have been issued for Taichung, Chiayi City, Changhua County, Nantou County, Yunlin County, Yilan County, the outlying Penghu County, and mountainous regions in Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu County, and Miaoli County. A heavy rain advisory indicates that rainfall may exceed 80 mm in 24 hours or over 40 mm in an hour.

As of 1:30 p.m., Hualien’s Fuli Township recorded the most accumulated rain with 277 mm, followed by Taitung’s Chishang Township with 266.5 mm, and Pingtung’s Chunri Township with 258.5 mm, according to the CWA.