The Central Weather Bureau is expected to issue a sea warning later today and possibly a land warning tomorrow for Typhoon Haiting as the storm gained strength and moved toward the island over the past 24 hours. Haiting, the 5th typhoon reported in the Pacific Ocean this year, was located 1,700 kilometers southeast of Taiwan and moving northwesterly toward at a speed of 30 kilometers per hour, CWB Chief Forecaster Wu Te-jung said. Wu said Haiting was gaining strength to become a strong typhoon that might cause devastating damage to the main island if it continues on its present course. Packing gust of 48 meters per second and with a radius of 200 kilometers, Haiting was expected to reach a location some 1,030 kilometers southeast of the southern tip of Hengchun by 8 a.m. this morning. If the typhoon makes landfall on Taiwan, it is most likely to do so on Tuesday or Wednesday, Wu said. The weather around Taiwan today might still be hot and sunny as it has been in the past few days, but Wu suggested that people should avoid going to beaches on the east coast as high waves are likely ahead of the typhoon. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Council of Agriculture urged farmers and fishermen to take necessary precautions to reduce possible damage to their property to a minimum. The official urged farmers to harvest corps and vegetables that are mature and to build shelters for fruits and other kinds of farm produce over the next few days. Farmers who raise pigs and other animals should check the drainage systems on their farms and check to see make sure their water pumps are functioning well, the official advised. Chicken and duck farmers should move their poultry away from their usual runs close to the rivers, he said. The spokesman also warned of possible landslide or mudslides in mountains, and urged farmers and other workers in mountainous areas to find shelter early. People residing in villages that were damaged by landslides should consider moving to safer places once the CWB has issued sea and land warnings for the typhoon. In order to understand more about the formation and the structure of typhoon Haiting, Wu Chun-chieh (§d«T³Ç), professor of atmospherics at National Taiwan University, said that some of his colleagues got aboard a research plane yesterday to drop 14 floating detectors in and around the typhoon. Wu said his colleagues will send back the data they collected for further analyses. This is part of a project sponsored by the National Science Council to learn more about the structure of different typhoons and what scientists described as "sensitive points" in typhoons.
Super Typhoon Haitang
Super Typhoon Haitang is now making landfall in Taiwan. Yesterday, Haitang was a Category 5 typhoon, with winds at 160 mph (257 km/h) and gusts up to 195 mph (317 km/h), and is currently moving west-northwest at 14 knots (16 mph, 26 km/h). As of 12:00 GMT on July 16, Haitang was located at  20.7° N, 127.7° E.

Current Wind speeds are 140 mph, with gusts up to 165 mph , the typhoon is moving northwest at 13 mph. 

The Taiwan central weather bureau is expected to issue a sea warning later today and possibly a land warning tomorrow.