A typhoon day off is not decided by the Central Weather Administration (CWA); it is decided by the mayor of each special municipality or the head of each county (city) under the regulations on suspending work and classes during natural disasters (天然災害停止上班及上課作業辦法; “the regulations” below). The legal wind threshold is: in areas the typhoon's storm radius may pass within 4 hours, average wind may reach level 7 or above or gusts may reach level 10 or above. The rain threshold looks at the CWA's forecast of accumulated rainfall for the next 24 hours; the reference value for both Taipei City and New Taipei City is 350 mm.
Note: This article covers the rules that apply to public agencies and to public and private schools. For private companies, attendance and pay on typhoon days are handled by employer and employees under the Ministry of Labor's guidelines on attendance management and wage payment for workers of enterprises during natural disasters (天然災害發生事業單位勞工出勤管理及工資給付要點); for disputes, call the Ministry of Labor's toll-free line, 1955. For work and school closures, rely on the website of the Executive Yuan's personnel administration agency (行政院人事行政總處) and the announcements of each county and city government; do not trust forwarded screenshots.
Who decides, and on what basis
The legal basis is the regulations, which fall under the Executive Yuan's personnel administration agency; the laws and regulations database shows the current version was amended on April 24, 2026. Article 9 states that in a special municipality the mayor decides and announces, and in a county (city) the head of the county (city) does; a county or city government may also delegate the authority to the heads of districts and townships (towns, cities) depending on differences in terrain and transport. So for the same typhoon, different counties and cities can reach different results, and a mountain township can suspend classes on its own.
The CWA's role is to supply data. Article 11 provides that during a typhoon the CWA sends each county and city, and the personnel administration agency, a table of forecast wind levels, gust levels and rainfall for each area before 1 a.m., 4 a.m., 7 a.m., 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. You can first use Taiwan real-time typhoon track and warnings to see where the storm radius is, then compare it with the thresholds below.
The three wind-disaster criteria for suspending work and classes
Article 4 lists three subparagraphs; meeting any one of them means the announcement “may” be made. It says “may,” not “must,” so the head still makes an overall judgment in the end.
| Criterion | What it says | Basis |
|---|
| Wind | According to weather forecasts, in areas the typhoon's storm radius may pass within 4 hours, average wind may reach level 7 or above or gusts may reach level 10 or above | The regulations, Article 4, subparagraph 1 |
| Rainfall | According to weather forecasts or actual observation, rainfall reaches the values in the appendix “rainfall reference values for suspending work and classes by each reporting authority,” and has caused or is likely to cause a disaster | The regulations, Article 4, subparagraph 2 and the appendix |
| Other | Wind or rainfall falls short of the first two subparagraphs, but because of terrain or rainfall, traffic or water and power supply is interrupted or difficult, affecting passage or the safety of attending work or school, or there is a risk of disaster | The regulations, Article 4, subparagraph 3 |
How strong level 7 wind and level 10 gusts really are, and how to read the Beaufort scale, are covered in a separate article on this site, how strong level 7 wind and level 10 gusts are. For the conditions under which sea and land typhoon warnings are issued, see how sea and land typhoon warnings differ; a land warning does not mean work and classes will definitely be suspended.
Rainfall reference values: different in each county and city
The appendix to Article 4 uses the CWA's “forecast accumulated rainfall for the next 24 hours” as the measure and lists an alert value for each county and city; some split mountain areas from flat areas. Where a value is marked “observed,” the basis is the 24-hour accumulated rainfall actually measured at the CWA's rain gauges in that county or city. Northern counties and cities are excerpted below; for the rest, see the appendix link at the end.
| Reporting authority | Mountain areas (mm) | Flat areas (mm) | Basis |
|---|
| Keelung City Government | 200 (no distinction between mountain and flat areas) | The regulations, Article 4 appendix |
| Taipei City Government | 350 (no distinction between mountain and flat areas) | The regulations, Article 4 appendix |
| New Taipei City Government | 350 (no distinction between mountain and flat areas) | The regulations, Article 4 appendix |
| Taoyuan City Government | 200 | 350 | The regulations, Article 4 appendix |
| Yilan County Government | 350 (observed: 250) | The regulations, Article 4 appendix |
This table and the CWA's rainfall grades are two different things. The CWA's FAQ says plainly that “suspension of work and classes has no direct link to rainfall grading”: an extremely heavy rain advisory (豪雨特報) does not mean a day off. For the rainfall grades, see how heavy rain (大雨), extremely heavy rain (豪雨), torrential rain (大豪雨) and extreme torrential rain (超大豪雨) are classified.
What time is it announced?
Article 10 sets the announcement times during a typhoon warning, which is why a typhoon day off is mostly known before 10 p.m. the night before.
- Full day or morning only: announced between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. the day before, with the media notified to broadcast it before 11 p.m.
- Nothing announced the night before, and wind and rain strengthen after midnight: after 0:00 that day, taking the CWA's latest wind, gust and rainfall forecasts into account, if the criteria in Article 4, subparagraphs 1 and 2 are met, the announcement must be made before 4:30 a.m. that day, with media broadcast before 5 a.m.
- Afternoon only or evening: announced before 10:30 a.m. that day, with media broadcast before 11 a.m.
- Other times: each reporting authority may announce at any time depending on actual conditions.
Article 10 also requires neighboring counties and cities to coordinate before deciding; when it is hard to tell whether the criteria are met, the head may decide to suspend classes first for the sake of students' safety.
Start and end times follow the personnel administration agency's operating Q&A (May 2026 revision), Q4-8: a full-day suspension announced the night before starts at 0:00 the next day; one announced only in the early hours of the day starts at the normal start of work or classes (usually 8 a.m.); “evening” starts at 6 p.m.; and the end time, except for a morning-only suspension, is in principle 12:00 midnight that day.
What “work suspended, classes continue” and “classes suspended, work continues” mean
Announcements treat “work” and “classes” as two separate things, which gives four combinations.
| Wording of the announcement | What it means | Basis |
|---|
| Work and classes both suspended | Agencies and schools both close. It does not apply to people the head assigns to work, such as those on shift or rotating duty or doing disaster relief | The regulations, Articles 2 and 12 |
| Classes suspended, work continues | Schools close and agencies work as usual. Civil servants and school staff who have children or grandchildren with disabilities in senior high school or below, or children or grandchildren in junior high school or below, with nobody to look after them, can be granted time off from work after verification; when a spouse or direct relative is also a civil servant or school employee, it is limited to one person | The regulations, Article 15; Q&A Q4-16 |
| Work suspended, classes continue | Agencies close and schools hold classes as usual. This article found no separate official explanation of this combination | This article's compilation |
Q4-1 of the Q&A puts it bluntly: suspending work and classes is a temporary emergency measure and is “not deemed an automatic holiday, and there is no such thing as a ‘typhoon day off.’” For attendance purposes it is handled as a “work (class) suspension registration” (停班（課）登記).
What about private companies?
Article 18 of the regulations says suspension of work at private enterprises is handled by negotiation between employer and employees under the Labor Standards Act or other laws. Item 6 of the Ministry of Labor's guidelines (amended September 19, 2025) lists three situations in which the employer may not treat the worker as absent without leave or late, may not force the day to be handled as personal leave or made up with extra work, and may not deduct the full-attendance bonus or dismiss the worker:
- The workplace's area was announced as suspended, and the worker therefore did not go to work.
- The workplace's area was not suspended, but typhoon, flood or earthquake really did block traffic, so the worker was late or did not go to work.
- The workplace's area was not suspended, but the area where the worker lives, or an area the worker must pass through to commute, was announced as suspended, so the worker did not go to work.
Item 6-1 provides that if the employer still requires attendance in these situations, it must provide commuting assistance and pay the fare where a taxi is needed. Item 7 uses the word “advisable”: it is advisable for the employer not to deduct wages from workers who cannot attend, and advisable to pay extra to those required to attend. “Advisable” is not mandatory; for disputes, ask 1955 directly.
How to check the latest closures
- The personnel administration agency's page “Natural disaster work and class suspension status”: the data comes from the county and city governments; after a land typhoon warning is issued, the agency's homepage switches to a closure screen, and there is also an English version.
- Voice inquiry phone line: the agency's page lists 020300166 (the Q&A writes it as a paid-service line, 0203-001-66).
- This site's tool: the Taiwan Today dashboard (今天在台灣) combines weather warnings, power outages and transport information every day.
Things to do at home before a day off is confirmed
A work and school closure is usually confirmed only the night before, so typhoon preparation should not wait for the announcement. Once a land warning is issued, go through the pre-typhoon plumbing and electrical checklist and store water first, following the guide to toilet flushing and drinking-water backup when power and water are out. Bring in things that can fly, such as balcony plants and clothes-drying racks; if they blow off and hit someone, you are legally liable.
FAQ
Do you have to make up a typhoon day off?
Not for public agencies and schools. Q4-1 of the personnel administration agency's Q&A explains that the point of suspending work and classes is disaster prevention and recovery, not a flexible holiday with a make-up day set later, so no make-up work or make-up classes are used. For private companies, under item 6 of the Ministry of Labor's guidelines, the employer may not force workers to make up the work.
I live in New Taipei and work in Taipei, and the two announcements differ. What do I do?
For civil servants and school staff, under Article 14, when the area where they live or the area they normally pass through to get to work is announced as suspended, their employing agency grants a work-suspension registration after verification. For private-sector workers, under item 6, subparagraph 3 of the Ministry of Labor's guidelines, in the same situation the employer may not treat the worker as absent without leave or deduct the full-attendance bonus. This article suggests keeping a record of your route and screenshots of that day's announcements.
I worked normally in the morning and the afternoon suspension was announced at noon. When do I have to leave?
Q4-8 of the Q&A explains that the starting point of “afternoon” is the normal start of afternoon work (usually 1:30 p.m., varying with each agency's flexible working hours). Morning work goes on as usual; if a reporting authority makes a different decision, follow its announcement.
Last updated: 2026-10-30
This article was compiled by the SOSfix editors from public information and is for general reference only; for your own case, contact the Executive Yuan's personnel administration agency, your county or city government, or the Ministry of Labor.
Sources
- National laws and regulations database (全國法規資料庫): regulations on suspending work and classes during natural disasters (amended April 24, 2026) (in Chinese): Articles 2, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 and 18, on who decides, the wind and rain criteria, announcement times and how attendance is handled.
- National laws and regulations database (全國法規資料庫): appendix to Article 4 of the regulations, table of rainfall reference values for suspending work and classes by each reporting authority (PDF) (in Chinese): the alert values for forecast 24-hour accumulated rainfall in each county and city, with notes.
- Executive Yuan personnel administration agency (行政院人事行政總處): natural disaster work and class suspension status (checked 2026-10-30) (in Chinese): the lookup page, the voice phone line, notes on scope, and a warning about criminal liability for forged web pages.
- Executive Yuan personnel administration agency (行政院人事行政總處): operating Q&A on suspending work and classes during natural disasters (May 2026 revision, PDF attachment) (in Chinese): Q3-5 how to check, Q4-1 not an automatic holiday and no make-up days, Q4-8 start and end times, Q4-16 care rules for classes suspended with work continuing, Q4-21 rules for private enterprises.
- Ministry of Labor labor law query system (勞動法令查詢系統): guidelines on attendance management and wage payment for workers of enterprises during natural disasters (amended September 19, 2025) (in Chinese): items 6, 6-1 and 7, on attendance, commuting assistance and wages.
- Central Weather Administration FAQ (中央氣象署常見問答): is rainfall grading related to suspension of work and classes, and who should you ask about suspension (in Chinese): “suspension of work and classes has no direct link to rainfall grading.”
