Premier Cho Jung-tai convened Taiwan's central typhoon command post early Thursday after the Central Weather Administration maintained a sea warning for Typhoon Champi and said a land warning for eastern counties could be issued by noon as the storm's track shifted west.
What changed overnight
Forecasters said Champi's center was moving northwest at about 13 kilometers per hour, with sustained winds near 155 kph. Five municipalities now show an greater than 80 percent probability of violent winds, up from Tuesday's model runs that kept the eye offshore.
Yilan and Hualien counties ordered village chiefs to open standby shelters by 10 a.m., while the Army Corps of Engineers pre-staged excavators along the Suhua Highway cliff sections known for rockfalls during October storms.
Transport and schools on watch
The Ministry of Education told local governments to decide on class suspensions using Taipei City's stop-work template if winds exceed thresholds. High Speed Rail said it would reduce speeds along the Yilan branch line if gusts top 120 kph, potentially delaying Taipei–Hualien trips that tourists booked for the long weekend.
Cho instructed the National Development Council to keep fuel and bottled-water inventories visible on a shared dashboard so panic buying does not empty suburban supermarkets before Champi's outer rain arrives.
Political stakes in a busy season
With Taiwan Series games scheduled at Taipei Dome and Golden Horse events later in the month, officials face pressure to avoid both overreaction and tardy warnings. The premier told reporters that eastern residents should prepare for 24 hours of restricted travel even if the eye passes quickly.
Cross-strait rhetoric paused briefly as parties shared typhoon updates on social media. For the cabinet, Thursday's command post is the rehearsal for landfall decisions that must come faster than election ads: close roads, open shelters, and keep the public looking at one map, not rumor threads.
Energy and telecom reserves
Taiwan Power Co. staged mobile substations in Hualien City, while major carriers tested satellite backhaul for cell towers along the east coast. Gas stations inland of the Central Range reported higher LPG sales as households topped up camping canisters for cooking if electricity blips.
The command post will brief again at 4 p.m. or sooner if sustained winds cross land-warning thresholds.