The Central Weather Bureau has expanded its sea and land warnings for
Tropical Storm Danas.

Earlier this afternoon, the CWB increased the area covered by its sea
warnings to include the Bashi channel, the southern half of the Taiwan
Strait, and waters to the east and north of Taiwan proper.

Land warnings now encompass Hualien, the Hengchun Peninsula, Pingtung and
Taidung, including the outlying Orchid and Green islands, which have both
declared typhoon holidays for this evening.

Most travel ties between Taidung and the outlying islands have been suspended
because of the storm.

The eye of Danas is currently about 130 kilometers southeast of Taiwan's
southernmost point of Ouluanbi, and it is expected to drift to the northwest
before trending north.

The storm is currently packing sustained winds of 65 kilometers an hour, and
gusts of up to 90.

With the storm approaching, the central government has activated a
national-level emergency response center, and local governments that will be
affected by the storm have followed suit.

Tens of thousands of military personnel are on standby to respond to any
storm-triggered emergencies.

(EG)