TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As Typhoon Koinu (小犬) nears Taiwan, Taipei City on Tuesday (Oct. 3) announced the evacuation gates in certain riverside areas in the city will be closed at 5 p.m.

The Hydraulic Engineering Office of Taipei City Government's Public Works Department said the evacuation gates along Tamsui River and the embankment ramps between Zhongshan Bridge and Zhoumei Bridge on the Keelung River will only allow outgoing traffic. This includes both the Bailing Left Bank Riverside Park and the Bailing Right Bank Riverside Park.

Beginning at 9 p.m., towing operations will commence for vehicles stranded outside the embankment. The public is urged to promptly move their vehicles.

The office said these measures are being implemented due to the anticipated rains brought by the periphery of Typhoon Koinu. Considering the upstream reservoirs have already initiated controlled discharges, heavy rainfall may necessitate an increase in controlled discharges, potentially surpassing the closure threshold for the evacuation gates.

In addition, Taipei City Government Department of Transportation said that it will allow conditional parking in designated areas with red and yellow lines around certain evacuation gates in Zhongshan, Songshan, Shilin, Wanhua, and Datong districts starting at 5 p.m.