Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau announced today (4th) that Typhoon Santuolo broke multiple records, including the longest duration from the issuance of a typhoon warning to its landfall, lasting 4 days and 4 hours, setting a new record for the longest warning period in history.
By the early morning of the 4th, Typhoon Santuolo had weakened into a tropical depression. At 12:50 p.m., the Central Weather Bureau issued a heavy rain advisory for the daytime for the northern coast of Keelung, mountainous areas of Taipei City, mountainous areas of New Taipei City, and Yilan County. Due to the influence of the low-pressure system, the weather remains unstable, with the potential for brief periods of heavy rainfall. People are advised to avoid entering mountainous areas and river activities.
Chen Yiliang, Director of the Forecast Center of the Central Weather Bureau, stated at a press conference today that the typhoon warning for Typhoon Santuolo was issued at 8:30 a.m. on September 29th. By 2:30 a.m. on September 30th, a land typhoon warning was issued, and the typhoon’s center made landfall in Kaohsiung’s Xiaogang around 12:40 p.m. on October 3rd, weakening into a tropical depression by the early morning of today.
Chen pointed out that Typhoon Santuolo moved at an exceptionally slow pace, taking a total of 4 days and 4 hours from the warning issuance to landfall, setting the record for the longest warning period before landfall in history, which is very rare. This was also the first typhoon for the Central Weather Bureau to hold three consecutive video conference meetings with county and city governments, surpassing previous records.
He further explained that both before and after Typhoon Santuolo made landfall in Kaohsiung, the Central Weather Bureau issued three strong wind warnings for the Gao-Ping region, marking the first time strong wind warnings were issued specifically for Kaohsiung City.
“The path taken by Typhoon Santuolo was rather unusual, as it landed on the southwestern part of Taiwan from the south,” Chen said. The last typhoon to make landfall in Kaohsiung was Typhoon Seloma in 1977, causing significant damage to the southern region. Therefore, Santuolo is the second typhoon to make landfall in Kaohsiung, but in terms of October landfalls in Kaohsiung, it is the first.