Typhoon Nari pounded northern Taiwan yesterday, leaving as many as 34 people dead and families searching for missing relatives.
Across the nation, 94 people were reported injured as of press time last night.
PHOTO: LIAO RAY-SHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
More than 800,000 Taipei area families were left in the dark after the typhoon cut electricity supplies. Another 300,000 were left without a dial tone.
In addition to disrupted train and flight schedules, Taipei's mass rapid transit system was completely shut down due to heavy flooding at some stations along the Nankang-Panchiao line.
Nari, the 16th typhoon of the year and the third to make landfall, was expected to leave Taiwan at around 2pm today, moving in a south-westerly direction from Chiayi County.
The typhoon's heavy rainfall has resulted in the worst flooding in the greater Taipei area in 50 years.
According to the National Fire Administration, waters in some parts of Hsihchih in Taipei County rose three stories high. In Keelung the flooding was one story high.
Some low-lying areas in Taipei City were also flooded. They included the Neihu, Wenshan, Shihlin, Nankang, Hsinyi and Chungshan districts.
As of midnight, in Taipei City 16 people were reported dead and 80 injured, according to the National Fire Administration. In Taipei County, 10 people were reported dead while eight people were reported dead in Keelung. Others were still missing.
George Lu (呂國臣), a meteorologist at the Central Weather Bureau, said that Nari -- already dubbed the "weirdest storm in Taiwan's history" because of its unpredictable path -- broke many records in terms of its course, the duration of its stay and the amount of rainfall it delivered.
"While most typhoons travel in either a parabolic curve or straight line, Typhoon Nari trailed on a bow-shaped course back and forth in the Pacific Ocean," Lu said.
Lu added that it was because the typhoon traveled at such a slow speed -- 4kph to 6kph -- that a substantial amount of rainfall was recorded during its 40-hour visit.
"While the previous highest daily amount of rainfall in Taipei City was recorded at 358mm, we saw over 400mm yesterday alone," Lu said. "And while most typhoons linger for between 11 and 12 hours after making landfall, Nari has stayed for over 19 hours now," he said at about 5pm yesterday.
Inspecting one of the hardest hit areas in Hsichih, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) called on other areas spared by the typhoon to help in relief efforts.
"We have mobilized the military to help in the relief efforts, and we definitely need more help from the public," Chang said.
Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
"I also call on the public to be patient with the city's efforts in pumping out water, because we have only a limited number of water pumps," Ma said.
Ma said the cause of yesterday's flooding was primarily the result of the extremely heavy rainfall rather than poor city infrastructure.
"I know it's not fair to say so because there's still plenty of room for improvement in the city's sewage system, but it's true that the city has never seen so much rainfall in one day," Ma said.
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
AGING: As of last month, people aged 65 or older accounted for 20.06 percent of the total population and the number of couples who got married fell by 18,685 from 2024 Taiwan has surpassed South Korea as the country least willing to have children, with an annual crude birthrate of 4.62 per 1,000 people, Ministry of the Interior data showed yesterday. The nation was previously ranked the second-lowest country in terms of total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime. However, South Korea’s fertility rate began to recover from 2023, with total fertility rate rising from 0.72 and estimated to reach 0.82 to 0.85 by last year, and the crude birthrate projected at 6.7 per 1,000 people. Japan’s crude birthrate was projected to fall below six,
RSS