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Source: http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/rss

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<rss version="2.0">
<channel>
<title>Seychelles News Agency</title>
<link>http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/</link>
<description>Real time news provider in English that informs its readers about the latest Seychelles news.</description>
<language>en</language>
<copyright>2024 Seychelles News Agency</copyright>
<item>
<title>Seagrass of Seychelles' EEZ captures nearly same amount of CO2 as local energy emissions</title>
<link>http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/20951/Seagrass+of+Seychelles%27+EEZ+captures+nearly+same+amount+of+CO+as+local+energy+emissions</link>
<guid>20951</guid>
<category>General</category>
<pubDate>Fri, 26 Jul 2024 15:31:25 +0200</pubDate>
<enclosure url="http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/media/images/2024-07/photo_verybig_20951.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
<description><![CDATA[Results from an extensive seagrass distribution assessment undertaken within Seychelles' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) by researchers indicate that these seagrass ecosystems are storing carbon dioxide (CO2) at a rate of 510,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year.
According to a joint press release from the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Change, this is nearly the same as the annual emissions from the local energy sector and almost three times the emissions from the transport sector.
Dr Gwilym Rowlands, an Earth Observation Scientist at Oxford, led the research in partnership with several local and international organisations and the German Aerospace Agency (DLR).
Using satellite imagery and meticulous ground surveys, the research team mapped 1,599 square kilometres of seagrass across the EEZ of 1.4 million square kilometres. The vast area, equivalent to 29,000 football fields, was identified as a significant resource capable of storing 18.9 million tonnes of organic carbon, amounting to 69 million tonnes of CO2.
The research project, titled "Seychelles Seagrass Mapping and Carbon Assessment Project", was initiated in 2020. It aligns with the government's commitment to safeguard 50 percent of its blue carbon ecosystems, including mangroves and seagrass meadows, by 2025 and achieve 100 percent protection by 2030.
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<td>Researchers at the D'Arros Atoll. (H. Grimmel, Save Our Seas Foundation) Photo License: <a href="http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/buy_prints" target="_blank">All Rights Reserved</a> </td>
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Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, made a commitment at the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, to move to 100 percent protection of all its mangroves and seagrass meadows.
The commitment was made as a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement with the goal of including these seagrass ecosystems within the Seychelles' National Green House Gas Inventory (NGGI).
In supporting the country's target, the project was designed to identify the distribution and extent of seagrass habitats in Seychelles' EEZ and this would then allow the quantification of the amount and rate at which these habitats store carbon.
According to the press release, "Further findings indicated that most seagrass habitats in Seychelles waters are around the Mahe Plateau Rim and the Amirantes Bank, with these areas inhabiting 32.9 percent and 30.3 percent of Seychelles seagrass, respectively."
While looking at the distribution of seagrass within the Seychelles Marine Spatial Plan (SMSP), the researchers were able to identify that 99.5 percent of Seychelles seagrass habitats are luckily found within High Biodiversity Zones and Medium Biodiversity and Sustainable Use Zones as well as pre-SMSP protected areas.
They however raised the concern that the most diverse seagrass meadows around Praslin and the Au Cap region, where at least seven species have been recorded, are located unfortunately within multiple-use zones. This, therefore, does not occur within an existing protected area.
The extensive study, which included the work of 50 predominantly Seychellois researchers and spanned over 20 institutions, has now quantified the importance of seagrass as a blue carbon ecosystem for Seychelles. It, therefore, provides the robust science needed to inform policy decisions regarding seagrass protection in Seychelles. ]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Nigerian man sentenced to 10 years in Seychelles prison for importation of cocaine</title>
<link>http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/20950/Nigerian+man+sentenced+to++years+in+Seychelles+prison+for+importation+of+cocaine</link>
<guid>20950</guid>
<category>General</category>
<pubDate>Fri, 26 Jul 2024 12:10:29 +0200</pubDate>
<enclosure url="http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/media/images/2024-07/photo_verybig_20950.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
<description><![CDATA[The Seychelles Supreme Court has sentenced a Nigerian national to 10 years in prison for the importation of a controlled drug, the police said in a communique on Thursday.
According to the police, Godson Odinah Nwezi who lives in the Perseverance district, was sentenced on two counts, 10 years for the importation of a controlled drug and three years for the same offence. The judge presiding over the case ruled that the two sentences run concurrently, so the convict will be in prison for 10 years only.
Nwezi committed the offence on October 21 last year in the southern Mahe district of Takamaka, where he was arrested and found in possession of 500.50 grammes of cocaine. During a search at his residence in Perseverance, 49.30 grammes of cocaine was seized.
According to the investigation, the drug was collected by a Ugandan national named Noeline Namatovu, who was sentenced to 10 years on May 13.
 
 ]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Red-billed tropicbird spotted for the first time on Seychelles’ Desroches Island</title>
<link>http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/20948/Red-billed+tropicbird+spotted+for+the+first+time+on+Seychelles+Desroches+Island</link>
<guid>20948</guid>
<category>Species</category>
<pubDate>Fri, 26 Jul 2024 10:51:49 +0200</pubDate>
<enclosure url="http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/media/images/2024-07/photo_verybig_20948.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
<description><![CDATA[Seychelles’ Desroches Island has recorded its first sighting of a red-billed tropicbird or “payanke labek rouz” in Creole by two assistant conservation officers of the Island Conservation Society (ICS).
In a press release on Thursday, ICS said the rare sighting, which is the 19th ever recorded in Seychelles, occurred recently when James Wareing was out bird-watching during the early morning hours.
“I had promised Lisa, the conservation officer of ICS here on Desroches, that I would not spot a new species without her, but nature had other plans,” said joked Wareing. He had to rush back to find Elizabeth Hein (known as Lisa) so they could see the bird together. The duo was ecstatic as they together observed and photographed the distinctive bird with its striking red bill.
Tropicbirds are common in Seychelles but the red-billed tropicbird, with its elegant white plumage and long tail feathers and its distinctly bright red bill, is rare. It is typically found in tropical and subtropical regions across the globe, making this sighting a significant event for bird enthusiasts. They usually nest on cliff faces, so this bird would unfortunately not have found the flat island of Desroches very appealing to stay at.
Greg Berke, director for conservation and science at ICS, emphasized the importance of such sightings.
“Each new species we document adds to our understanding of the island’s biodiversity. The presence of the red-billed tropicbird on Desroches highlights the ecological richness and the success of our ongoing conservation efforts,” he said.
The Island Conservation Society (ICS) set up a conservation Centre on Desroches in 2009 and have since then been working diligently on several projects to maintain, monitor and raise awareness about the biodiversity of the island.
Hein who was equally thrilled about the sighting, said, “It is moments like these that remind us why conservation work is so crucial. Every species plays a unique role in our ecosystem, and it is our duty to protect them.”
All sightings of birds in the Seychelles that are seen rarely or appear out of their range are reported to the Seychelles Bird Records Committee (SBRC) that collects and assesses all records of species.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Locked-down Paris nervously awaits Olympics opening ceremony</title>
<link>http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/20946/Locked-down+Paris+nervously+awaits+Olympics+opening+ceremony</link>
<guid>20946</guid>
<category>General</category>
<pubDate>Fri, 26 Jul 2024 08:05:40 +0200</pubDate>
<enclosure url="http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/media/images/2024-07/photo_verybig_20946.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
<description><![CDATA["It's going to be a beautiful success," says Claudine Vacelet confidently of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, before pausing. "Well, with the security issues, I suppose we'll only see whether it's a success at the end."
After years of planning, the Olympic spotlight is set to finally fall on the French capital on Friday evening at 7:30 pm (1730 GMT), when a wildly ambitious opening parade on the river Seine begins.
Vacelet, 77, a retired orthodontist from southwest Paris, is like many residents who are confident about the artistic flair and ability of France to put on a memorable show, but are also slightly anxious about the outcome.
"But then there are always security issues nowadays. It's the world we live in," she sighed.
The centre of Paris is set to be locked down by 45,000 police and gendarmes, 10,000 soldiers, and around 22,000 private security guards on Friday evening.
The sound of helicopters, sirens, and the ever-present sight of police officers in recent days has given the impression of a capital under siege, hinting at unseen threats in a city that has known numerous attacks over the past decade.
"I hope the games will go well, but I am a bit worried because the world is on fire right now," Sonia Jacob, a 42-year-old mother of three, told AFP in the northeastern 20th district.
- Grumbling -
The security measures and the vast scale of the opening ceremony -- nearly 7,000 athletes will sail six kilometres (four miles) down the Seine -- have tested the patience and tolerance of many locals.
Most of the bridges and the river banks have been out of bounds for a week and more than 40,000 metal barriers erected along the sailing route have left some residents feeling like they are living behind bars in a zoo.
Restaurants and shop owners are complaining about the impact on their businesses. The city's famously grumpy taxi drivers are on the verge of despair about the traffic and a lack of customers.
And in wealthy areas, many residents let their feelings about the Games known weeks ago by leaving town for holidays.
"It's hard for Parisians at the moment. Crossing the city is a real nightmare," Jaime Castellanos, a 67-year-old painter, told AFP as he finished his shopping in southwest Paris, a short walk from the Seine.
"But in terms of the image of France, I think it'll be positive."
- 'Excitement building' -
There are gathering signs that after all the grumbling and the complaining this year, all the suspense and performance anxiety ahead of the start, that the city might finally be getting ready to party.
Organisers have constantly stressed that pre-Olympics discontent is predictable and customary.
It was the same for the Games in Sydney in 2000 and in London in 2012, they say -- both of which are now fondly remembered by locals there.
Emelie Harvey, a 26-year-old who works as a florist in the 15th district of the capital, said she was indifferent about the Games until the torch relay came past her boutique at the start of the month.
"You can feel there's excitement building. People love criticising the country, complaining, but I think we're going to make it a success," she told AFP.
"For us young people, it's the first time we've had a major sports event like this."
Jeanne Farret, a 47-year-old French teacher, said she had become accustomed to living with the threat of attacks and would not let it spoil her enjoyment.
"I'm definitely concerned about the risk of terrorism, but no more so than in the past ten years or so," she said.
In a TV interview this week, President Emmanuel Macron urged Parisians to stay upbeat.
"All of us will see from Friday why it was worth the bother," he promised.
© Agence France-Presse]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Sri Lanka announces first presidential vote since unrest</title>
<link>http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/20945/Sri+Lanka+announces+first+presidential+vote+since+unrest</link>
<guid>20945</guid>
<category>General</category>
<pubDate>Fri, 26 Jul 2024 07:56:52 +0200</pubDate>
<enclosure url="http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/media/images/2024-07/photo_verybig_20945.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
<description><![CDATA[Sri Lanka's first presidential elections since an unprecedented economic crisis spurred widespread unrest will be held in September, the election commission said Friday.
The election will be the first test of the public mood since the height of the 2022 downturn, which caused months of food, fuel and medicine shortages across the island nation.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 75, who took office after street protests forced his predecessor to flee the country, has strongly hinted he plans to run.
He will face at least two rivals campaigning against austerity measures his government imposed to satisfy an International Monetary Fund bailout package.
The five-week campaign announced by the commission will conclude with a September 21 vote in a country still struggling with a fragile economic recovery and endemic discontent over cost of living issues.
Economic issues are expected to dominate the campaign as the country emerges from its worst-ever recession in 2022, when the GDP shrank by a record 7.8 percent.
Inflation has since returned to normal levels from its peak of 70 percent at the height of the crisis.
Wickremesinghe has also successfully negotiated a restructure of Sri Lanka's $46 billion foreign debt with bilateral lenders including China, following a 2022 government default.
But his policies to balance the government's books by hiking taxes and withdrawing generous utility subsidies have been deeply unpopular with the public.
While the months-long food, fuel and medicine shortages seen at the peak of the economic crisis are now a distant memory, many Sri Lankans say Wickremesinghe's austerity measures have left them struggling to make ends meet.
Opposition parties have vowed to renegotiate terms of the $2.9 billion IMF bailout Wickremesinghe negotiated last year.
The president's main challenger so far is Sajith Premadasa, 57, a one-time party ally and current opposition leader.
Premadasa has vowed to continue with economic reforms and the IMF programme but pledged to cushion the public by reducing the tax increases Wickremesinghe imposed to shore up state revenue.
A leftist party is also fielding its leader, 55-year-old former agriculture minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who is campaigning against plans to privatise state companies
Wickremesinghe took office following the government default in 2022, after a huge crowd stormed predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa's compound.
Rajapaksa, who was accused of steering Sri Lanka into the crisis through economic mismanagement, temporarily fled abroad and issued his resignation from Singapore.
Local elections were due to be held last year but postponed indefinitely after the government insisted it had no money to conduct a nationwide vote.
More than 17 million Sri Lankans over the age of 18 are eligible to cast a ballot.
The election commission has allocated $33 million (10 billion rupees) for this year's presidential poll.
© Agence France-Presse]]></description>
</item>
<item>
<title>Seychelles to introduce national addressing system, pilot rollout planned for March 2025</title>
<link>http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/20943/Seychelles+to+introduce+national+addressing+system%2C+pilot+rollout+planned+for+March+</link>
<guid>20943</guid>
<category>General</category>
<pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 12:55:59 +0200</pubDate>
<enclosure url="http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/media/images/2024-07/photo_verybig_20943.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
<description><![CDATA[The Seychelles' Cabinet of Ministers has approved the implementation of the National Addressing System (NAS) to provide a standardised, accurate, and efficient addressing framework to improve service delivery.
In a cabinet decisions press briefing on Thursday, Vice President Ahmed Afif said that Seychelles, unlike other countries, does not have a postal code, which is a combination of numbers and letters that helps postal departments and courier services determine the exact place and region where postal mail must be delivered.
"Today many people do e-commerce transactions and things are ordered online. All courier and postal companies making the deliveries are asking that they know exactly where the products are going because part of their services is door-to-door deliveries. So when you give an address which is not precise example there is no number they will say they are sending couriers to a place where there is no standard in terms of addresses," said Afif.
He added that the government is introducing the standard and what this means is that there will be a postal code to indicate the district, sub-district, a specific zone in the sub-district.
"The standard will be called S42, one that many countries have adopted. So all places in Seychelles will have a four-digit code. When Seychelles adopts the standard, all courier companies will know that when they send something to Seychelles, they will know where the products will be going," said the Vice President.
Afif explained that deliveries will reach individuals' homes because the Seychelles Postal System will have an internal system to to identify individual houses. 
"Each house will have a number and the postman will be able to identify your house when this is introduced. An app will also be introduced to link with our Geographical Information System (GIS), which will show where a person's house is," he added. ]]></description>
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<title>Major Diana Woodcock: First woman parade commander in Seychelles</title>
<link>http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/20923/Major+Diana+Woodcock+First+woman+parade+commander+in+Seychelles</link>
<guid>20923</guid>
<category>General</category>
<pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 09:58:18 +0200</pubDate>
<enclosure url="http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/media/images/2024-07/photo_verybig_20923.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
<description><![CDATA[For the first time in 48 years, a woman was the parade commander at the National Day Parade in Seychelles. Major Daina Woodcock from the Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF) was at the helm of the parade on June 29 this year.
The parade, usually held every year since the country gained independence in 1976, did not take place in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Woodcock, a medical doctor, has made history twice. Four years ago, in March 2020, she made history for the first time by becoming the first Seychellois military medical officer in the army.
Currently the only woman with the rank of major in the SDF, Woodcock said that she will "use her achievements to inspire other young women. She explained that her leading the parade can be described as a "rite of passage," which she is proud of.
Woodcock joined the army in 2010. Following infantry training, she left for her studies in Morocco to become a doctor at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Rabat of the Royal School of the Military Health Service. After 8 years, on March 9, 2020, she took her Hippocratic Oath in Rabat.
In December last year, Woodcock - then a Captain - was among 14 officers from the Seychelles Defence Forces who were promoted by the President of Seychelles and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Wavel Ramkalawan. Their promotions and commissions were given based on merit, expertise, and the exceptional leadership roles that they showed.
In a special meeting recently the Minister for Youth Sports and Family, Marie-Celine Zialor, congratulated and commended Woodcock on her impressive achievement and told her that such a feat should not be undermined. "You now carry a torch for many women," said Zialor, whose ministry holds the gender portfolio. "Your name will go down in history as you achieved something remarkable in a male-dominated field," said Zialor.
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<td>Woodcock met with Minister Zialor. (Seychelles Nation) Photo License: <a href="http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/buy_prints#attribution" target="_blank">CC-BY</a> </td>
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The minister has invited the army official to join her ministry's efforts and programme to empower and inspire young women to a more positive way of life. Zialor added that there are too many cases of violence against women that something must be done.
Woodcock accepted the invitation, adding that she is "looking forward to working with the community and other young women to inspire them to better themselves for a better tomorrow."
Woodcock, who currently manages the peripheral clinic at the Seychelles Defence Forces, said her 14-year journey has not been easy. Often, she has had to work twice as hard to prove herself, but she has remained focused and determined to rise above challenges in the pursuit of her dream.
The major is also encouraging young women with the right skills and attitude to join the forces, which she said offers many opportunities, including leadership ones.
This year's military parade took place along Constitution Avenue in the capital city of Victoria and consisted of 25 platoons of local and foreign military forces. The local platoons also included the Seychelles Police Force, the Seychelles Fire and Rescue Services Agency and youth organisations affiliated with the Seychelles National Youth Council (SNYC). ]]></description>
</item>
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<title>Scramble to send aid after Ethiopia landslide kills over 200</title>
<link>http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/20941/Scramble+to+send+aid+after+Ethiopia+landslide+kills+over+</link>
<guid>20941</guid>
<category>General</category>
<pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 06:57:05 +0200</pubDate>
<enclosure url="http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/media/images/2024-07/photo_verybig_20941.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
<description><![CDATA[Humanitarian agencies were scrambling Tuesday to send desperately needed aid to a remote area of southern Ethiopia where a landslide has killed more than 200 people in the deadliest such disaster recorded in the Horn of Africa nation.
Crowds gathered at the site of the tragedy in an isolated and mountainous area of South Ethiopia regional state as residents used shovels or their bare hands to dig through mounds of red dirt in the hunt for victims and survivors, according to images posted by the local authority.
So far, 148 men and 81 women are confirmed to have died after the disaster struck on Monday in the Kencho-Shacha locality in the Gofa Zone, the local Communications Affairs Department said.
Images published on social media by the Gofa authority showed residents carrying bodies on makeshift stretchers, some wrapped in plastic sheeting.
Five people had been pulled alive from the mud and were receiving treatment at medical facilities, the government-owned Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation reported earlier.
It quoted local administrator Dagemawi Ayele as saying that most of the victims were buried after they went to help local residents hit by a first landslide following heavy rains.
Dagemawi said that among the victims were the locality's administrator as well as teachers, health professionals and agricultural professionals.
The UN's humanitarian response agency OCHA said more than 14,000 people had been affected in the hard-to-access area, which is roughly 450 kilometres (270 miles) from the capital Addis Ababa, about a 10-hour drive.
It said support for those affected was mostly being shouldered by the local community but some initial relief items had been sent by federal and regional authorities and local partners, including four trucks of supplies dispatched by the Ethiopian Red Cross for 500 households.
"Agencies are ready to deliver critical supplies, including food, medical items, and water, sanitation and hygiene support," OCHA said, adding that agencies would be assessing the scale of the impact of the tragedy, including displacement and damage to livelihoods.
Ethiopia, the second most populous country in Africa with around 120 million people, is highly vulnerable to climate disasters including flooding and drought.
- 'Landslide engulfed them' -
"I am deeply saddened by this terrible loss," Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on X.
"Following the accident, the Federal Disaster Prevention Task Force has been deployed to the area and is working to reduce the impact of the disaster."
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is Ethiopian, sent a message of condolence on X and said a WHO team was being deployed to support immediate health needs.
African Union Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat also posted a statement on X, saying "our hearts and prayers" were with the families of the victims.
Firaol Bekele, early warning director at the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission (EDRMC), told AFP that residents had mobilised to try to save lives after four households were initially affected by a mudslide.
"But they too perished when the landslide engulfed them," he said, adding that the commission had sent an emergency team to the area, along with food and other aid for the stricken community.
He said there needed to be a "solid assessment and scientific investigation" into the cause of the landslide.
"An integrated, study-based solution is needed to address the risk permanently. This may include relocating the population."
- Seasonal rains cause havoc -
OCHA said Tuesday that a similar, but lower-scale landslide had occurred in May in the same area, where more than 50 people had died.
Seasonal rains in South Ethiopia state between April and early May had caused flooding, mass displacement and damage to livelihoods and infrastructure, it had said in May.
"This isn't the first time this type of disaster has happened," said an Ethiopian refugee living in Kenya who is from a district located near the site.
"Last year in a similar disaster more than 20 people were killed and before that almost every rainy season people die because of landslides and heavy rains in that area."
In another incident in 2017, at least 113 people died when a mountain of garbage collapsed in a dump in the outskirts of Addis Ababa.
The deadliest landslide in Africa was in Sierra Leone's capital in Freetown in August 2017, when 1,141 people perished.
Mudslides in the Mount Elgon region of eastern Uganda killed more than 350 people in February 2010.
© Agence France-Presse]]></description>
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<title>Taiwan shuts down as deadly Typhoon Gaemi makes landfall</title>
<link>http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/20940/Taiwan+shuts+down+as+deadly+Typhoon+Gaemi+makes+landfall</link>
<guid>20940</guid>
<category>General</category>
<pubDate>Thu, 25 Jul 2024 06:50:33 +0200</pubDate>
<enclosure url="http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/media/images/2024-07/photo_verybig_20940.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
<description><![CDATA[Typhoon Gaemi made landfall on Taiwan's eastern coast in the early hours of Thursday, after unleashing torrential rainfall and whipping winds across the island that left two people dead.
On its path to Taiwan, Gaemi had also exacerbated seasonal rains in nearby Philippines, triggering flooding and landslides that killed six.
The superstorm hit Taiwan's eastern Yilan County at around 12:00 am local time Thursday (1600 GMT Wednesday), said the Central Weather Administration.
"Wind and rain continue to intensify, posing a threat to various parts of Taiwan, (and its outlying islands of) Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu," it said, calling on the public to "be on high alert".
The first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan this year, Gaemi was "expected to be the strongest" one in eight years, a government forecaster told AFP.
It had caused downpours and strong gusts across Taiwan before its arrival, killing one motorist in southern Kaohsiung city who was crushed by a falling tree, and a woman in eastern Hualien, authorities said.
More than 200 people were injured by Wednesday evening, while more than 290,000 homes were plunged into darkness due to power outages, disaster officials said.
The weather also forced the self-ruled island to cancel some of its annual Han Kuang war games -- which test preparedness for a Chinese invasion -- though an anti-landing drill went ahead as scheduled on Wednesday morning on Penghu, west of Taiwan's main island.
By 8:00 pm (1200 GMT) on Wednesday, authorities had evacuated more than 8,000 people living in precarious conditions across Taiwan, particularly in Hualien -- a mountainous area with a high risk of landslides.
Trains and ferry services were suspended and hundreds of international and domestic flights were cancelled on Wednesday.
"We expect that the impact of the typhoon will be extended to four days (until Friday)," said Taiwan's Central Weather Administration chief Cheng Jia-ping.
Schools and offices will remain closed for the second day in a row in several cities -- including Taipei -- with authorities expecting adverse weather to continue across the island.
Gaemi is expected to make its way across the strait later today and hit China's eastern Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, where authorities have issued a red storm alert.
- 'Exercise strong vigilance' -
Gaemi swept past the Philippines, intensifying monsoons that were typical this time of the year and triggering widespread flooding in Manila that turned streets into rivers.
Landslides killed six in provinces surrounding Manila, police and disaster officials said.
Weather authorities in Japan's southern island region of Okinawa urged residents to "exercise strong vigilance" against storms, high waves and floods.
Massive waves crashed ashore in Taiwan's northeastern Yilan county, while strong gusts whipped the rain sideways and sent signs flying.
A fisher surnamed Hsu tied down his boat at a typhoon shelter in a harbour crowded with docked vessels.
"I am worried about the typhoon -- the boats are my tool for making money," he told AFP.
Government offices were closed and streets emptied in the capital Taipei, while some stores had their entrances sandbagged to prevent potential floodwater.
Taiwanese chip giant TSMC, the world's largest chipmaker, said it would maintain normal production and that it had "activated routine typhoon alert preparation procedures" at all fabrication plants.
Taiwan is accustomed to frequent tropical storms from July to October but experts say climate change has increased their intensity, leading to heavy rains, flash floods and strong gusts.
© Agence France-Presse
 ]]></description>
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