No 3 signal may go up tonight as storm weakens

The strong wind No 3 signal could be hoisted tonight or tomorrow morning but the Observatory said typhoon Koinu will be weakened under the influence of the northeast monsoon.

The standby signal No 1 remained in force from 9.40 pm on Wednesday. According to the observatory's forecast track, Koinu will enter the 400-kilometer range tonight or tomorrow.

The chance of strong winds prevailing over the territory is low," it said.

"However, it will edge closer to the vicinity of the Pearl River estuary gradually. The need for issuance of higher tropical cyclone warning signals depends on its intensity and its distance from the estuary when it edges closer to the region," it added.

Koinu will also bring heavy showers and thunderstorms this weekend due to its rainbands and the northeast monsoon.

That will dissipate the hot weather as temperatures are expected to fall to 25 degrees Celsius tomorrow and 23 degrees on Sunday.

In view of the weather, a Development Bureau spokesman said night bazaars at the Wan Chai and Kennedy Town harborfront from today to Sunday will be canceled.

His rationale was that the harborfront venues are exposed with no shelter.

After talks with bazaar organizers, it decided to go ahead with the cancellation to ensure the safety of the public and stall operators.

The Drainage Services Department has inspected about 220 "blockage black spots" across the city where the risk of clogging by rubbish and leaves was high.

Koinu brushed past southern Taiwan yesterday, killing one person, injuring 304 and causing damage, as lashing rains and strong winds forced millions in a swath of cities to miss work and school.

Koinu made landfall in Hengchun peninsula as a category four typhoon packing winds of up to 252 kilometers per hour.

The heaviest rain fell in mountainous and sparsely populated parts of Pingtung county in the south and the east coast counties of Taitung and Hualien, but the typhoon also affected southern Kaohsiung port.

Most cities and counties declared a day off work and school though Taipei was not affected and was operating as normal.

Taiwan's fire department reported one death from a person hit by flying glass in central Taichung, as well as damage to buildings and downed trees.