Maui Mayor on Delegation Visit as Typhoon Nears Taiwan

Typhoon Saola projected path imagery courtesy Pacific Disaster Center.

By Wendy Osher

County officials are monitoring the path of Typhoon Saola as it nears the country of Taiwan.  Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa departed for the region on a delegate visit on July 28.

While county officials were still in the process of trying to establish a line of communication with the mayor this afternoon, authorities said he is not expected to be in any danger.

Taiwanese officials told county authorities that the typhoon was not expected to make a direct hit on Taiwan.

The Pacific Disaster Center reports that Typhoon Saola is projected to move just to the northeast of Taiwan before impacting the Chinese coast on August 2.

The agency reported the location of the system today to be about 320 nautical miles south-southeast of Taipei, Taiwan, with sustained winds of 65 knots.

Mayor Arakawa is part of a 10-member mayoral delegation in the country on a trip sponsored by the Taipei Economic Cultural Office in Washington, DC.  The group is in the region to promote economic and cultural exchange with the US.

Both Mayor Arakawa and his wife Ann are scheduled to return to Maui on August 4.

***Supporting information courtesy County of Maui.