Taiwan's joint search-and-rescue team rescued 134 Chinese fishermen huddled at the bow of their burning "floating hotel" in violent seas as Typhoon Nakri pounded the island with strong winds and torrential rain.
Against the rough seas whipped by the typhoon, the team launched a maritime operation yesterday, picking up 134 fishermen stranded on a burning vessel off the port of Kaohsiung.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
"By 11:50am, we managed to airlift 134 fishermen after the Yuanshen No. 2 (
PHOTO: AFP
"However, one Chinese fisherman, Zhang Qinjin (張青靚), remains missing and we are still searching for him," the official added.
However, there were no casualties or injuries as of 9pm last night, according to the Typhoon Disaster Command Center under the National Fire Administration.
Among the 134 fishermen rescued, 127 were from China, five from Vietnam, while the shipmaster was from Taiwan, according to a press release issued by the Kaohsiung City Government.
The rescued fishermen took temporary shelter yesterday at a nearby Coast Guard Administration base as well as a fishermen's association building in Kaohsiung County, the press release said.
Chinese fishermen are not allowed to come ashore except in special cases such as storms or other emergencies, and live aboard their vessels which are frequently referred to as "floating hotels."
The fishing boat caught fire and lost power while heading to Kaohsiung to take shelter from the approaching typhoon.
Coastal threat
Nakri skirted along Taiwan's western coast late yesterday, threatening coastal communities and dumping heavy rains that could trigger deadly landslides in mountainous areas, officials warned.
Nakri was about 50km west of the central city of Taichung as of 9pm last night, and was moving northeast at a rate of 15kph, the Central Weather Bureau said.
"This typhoon has brought and is expected to bring torrential rains, and we should be watchful for what these rains may trigger, such as mudslides or landslides," said Daniel Wu (
Rainfall
As of 6pm yesterday, more than 270mm of rain fell in Ta Chiaohsi (大礁溪) of Ilan County, while the rainfall in Penghu County was around 137mm.
Wu also warned that rising tides, accompanied by torrential rains, could threaten coastal areas. "Lnpien (林邊) of Pingtung County, for instance, saw storm surge in the morning. And the same situation could take place once again on Wednesday morning," Wu said.
The rains brought by Nakri raised the water level at the Feitsui Reservoir (翡翠水庫) above the critical 141m level, prompting Taipei City to announce the lifting of all water rationing measures that were imposed in response to this year's drought.
The typhoon, however, was not expected to bring strong winds, as the structure of the storm center has remained weak, Wu added.
Officials yesterday also closed the airports in Taichung and Penghu as the storm approached.
China Airlines canceled flights from Kaohsiung to Manila.
Stranded
Officials said they were trying to find six hikers, who called their family and reported they were lost in the northeastern coastal mountains of Ilan County.
By yesterday afternoon, several central cities and counties had closed offices and schools.
Meanwhile, Premier Yu Shyi-kun blasted officials from various ministries for their belated arrival at the Typhoon Disaster Command Center.
"Officials from only five ministries made it on time. The rest of them were late," Yu said.
Yu also cautioned Taiwanese to take precautions in order to minimize the typhoon's damage.
The Central Weather Bureau issued typhoon warnings early yesterday morning after the tropical, low-pressure system originally near Tungsha Island in the South China Sea developed into Typhoon Nakri.
Nakri arrived about a week after Rammasun, the first typhoon of this year's season. Rammasun veered north of Taiwan but still managed to bring long-expected rains after months of drought.
As of press time last night, today was to be a working day across the country.
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