Taitung is last to announce typhoon holiday in Taiwan｜Formosa English News

Bilingual text here: https://english.ftvnews.com.tw/news/2026A23W02EA?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description 雙語文字版: https://english.ftvnews.com.tw/news/2026A23W02EA?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description Our official website: ➔ https://english.ftvnews.com.tw/ Follow us on Facebook: ➔ https://www.facebook.com/ftvformosanews X (Twitter): ➔ https://x.com/FTV_Taiwan_News At first, Taitung was the only county in all of Taiwan proper that didn’t announce a typhoon holiday, leading to the County Commissioner April Yao’s Facebook being flooded with comments. It wasn’t until 6am this morning, that the Taitung County Government reversed their decision and announced emergency suspension of schools and workplaces. They claimed the typhoon’s path had changed and would last longer than anticipated. -Didn’t you hear that today is a holiday? You didn’t know? Haha Like many students in Taitung, when this middle schooler heard this morning that schools were closed for the typhoon, he threw his arms in the air and danced. The news however comes as a late surprise. - Is there a possibility to have a holiday? - No, what are you guys thinking? Taitung was the last county in all of the island of Taiwan to announce a typhoon holiday; the county government didn’t think that an abrupt announcement at 6am would catch the locals off guard. Store owner Taitung Market vendor Our jobs require us to go out in the middle of the night; the winds are very strong at that hour making it nearly impossible to ride your motorcycle. The entire road is filled with dirt, flying everywhere. They aren’t prioritizing the safety of the locals, it’s not that I’m angry; I just think they are incompetent. Member of public Worries for long distance travelers For those who have to travel far or those who already set out, and then hear it’s a holiday, it’s quite inconvenient. Wang Chih-hui Taitung County Deputy Commissioner Until yesterday evening, the Central Weather Administration claimed that Taitung would see no rains. It wasn’t until 4 or 5am this morning that they updated their claims because the typhoon’s path was changing. Taitung County Government altered their decision due to the typhoon’s changing path, since the winds in the morning were not strong, and only a few trees had fallen over, they were not sure a holiday was warranted, which has sparked discussions. Wang Chih-hui Taitung County Deputy Commisioner Yesterday evening, our decision was primarily that the wind speeds hitting Taitung were around 4 on the Beaufort scale, but this morning with updated information, it suggested the wind speeds in Taitung remained at or above 6 all day. As Austin Wang, an associate professor in Political Science, writes for The New York Times, the likelihood a mayor announces a typhoon holiday increases by 31% during an election year. Typhoons holidays remain a hot topic and with just some 30 days until the election, it seems typhoon winds are stirring up politics as well. For more Taiwan news, tune in: Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152 Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53 #champi #typhoon #austinwang #politics #taiwan #台灣新聞 #FormosaEnglishNews #民視新聞 #FTV新聞 #Taiwan