Typhoon Trami, which soaked southern Taiwan on Wednesday evening and caused the worst flooding there in 40 years, left three dead in its wake, 130,000 families without electricity and many others without water.
In a bid to help the affected areas better cope with the disaster, the Cabinet decided to allocate NT$3 billion of the nation's emergency relief fund.
According to the latest statistics made public by the National Fire Administration yesterday afternoon, although Trami did not bring strong winds, it brought heavy rainfall and caused massive flooding and mudslides in Kaohsiung City, Kaohsiung County, Pingtung County and the outlying Green, Orchid and Penghu islands.
Two people, including a 2-year-old girl, died in Kaohsiung County. Another 49-year-old physically challenged woman was drowned in the basement of a building in Kaohsiung City.
The heavy flooding hampered the city's downtown traffic and disrupted train schedules. Many trains were up to 80 minutes late or canceled altogether.
In the greater Kaohsiung area, more than 45,000 families were left without electricity and 100 families left without water as of yesterday morning.
Agricultural losses in the south from Trami have amounted to NT$38 million, while losses from flooding at an industrial park have totaled around NT$200 million, according to initial government estimates.
The hardest hit of the farmers were those growing vegetables, with losses in the sector amounting to NT$22 million, while losses among livestock totalled some NT$8.7 million, according to data from the Council of Agriculture.
Fish farms in the Kangshan township, where seafood such as milkfish and Thai shrimp are raised, suffered as the heavy rains caused the ponds to overflow. Losses there are estimated at NT$6.9 million, according to the council.
The council advised farmers to pay closer attention to setting up and maintaining their irrigation systems and advised them to quickly harvest crops to reduce losses and to immediately dispose of dead livestock to prevent the spread of disease.
Farmers in Kaohsiung County saw the most serious losses -- NT$27 million -- while those in Pingtung County saw losses of NT$10.9 million, according to council statistics.
Flood waters also swamped Kaohsiung's Jenwu Industrial Park (
The park encompasses 31 companies, of which most are involved in the manufacture of heavy equipment and the production of metal goods.
Heavy rainfall also triggered landslides. In Pintung County, about one hectare of rice was buried under mud and five buildings were destroyed.
Trami was originally expected to pack a stronger punch, but was downgraded to a tropical storm as it made landfall in Taitung County on Wednesday evening.
The storm was the second to hit Taiwan in recent days. Typhoon Utor side-swiped Taiwan a week ago but killed more than 150 people in China and the Philippines.
RSS