Countries: China - Taiwan Province, Japan, Philippines Source: European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations Tropical cyclone PODUL, which formed in the West Pacific Ocean on 7 August, is located over the Philippine Sea and continues to move west-northwest toward Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait. On 12 August, at 0.00 its centre was located approximately 550 km south-east of Taketomi Island in the Okinawa prefecture of southern Japan, and 700 km south-east of the eastern coast of Taiwan, with a maximum sustained winds of 120 km/h (typhoon).PODUL is expected to intensify between 12-13 August, with maximum sustained winds of 157 km/h. It will make the first landfall near Taitung city, in south-eastern Taiwan, in the morning (UTC) of 13 August, and the second landfall over southeastern China between 13 and 14 August.According to media, as of 12 August, hundreds of people are evacuating across Taiwan, including at least 700 people in Hualien county due to the risk of overflow from a natural dam.For the next 48 hours, heavy rainfall and strong winds are expected across most of Taiwan, southern Japan, and northern Philippines. A red warning for typhoon has been issued for eastern Taiwan.