Sun, Sep 12, 2004 page1

• Walls of rain flood northern centers

  SUBMERGED It was like a typhoon, but without the wind -- a relentless storm that flooded extensive parts of metropolitan Taipei and other areas in just one night

  • By Wang Hsiao-wen / STAFF REPORTER
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  Powerful downpours and strong winds lashed the nation yesterday, flooding urban centers in the north and threatening to cause landslides in central mountainous areas, even as the Central Weather Bureau issued a new typhoon warning.

  The deluge, the heaviest since Typhoon Nari three years ago, claimed one life and left hundreds stranded at press time yesterday.

  

  Three cars immersed in water next to the No. 5 Floodgate on Taipei's Fuyuan Street beside the Keelung River are barely visible yesterday after a night of torrential rain. The sign on the left of the picture reads ``No swimming.''

  PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES

  Houses in Nangang District in Taipei and adjacent Hsichih in Taipei County were swallowed up by muddy water. Sanchung in Taipei County was again hard hit by flooding. People waded across roads in chest-high water in front of their shops and low-rise apartments. Cars plowed through streets in a desperate effort to reach higher ground.

  Nangang was drenched with 787mm of rain within 12 hours, with that figure expected to increase today, the Central Weather Bureau said.

  Taoyuan and Keelung also saw more than 400mm of rain yesterday. The bureau had issued a torrential rain and strong wind warning on Friday, advising residents in mountainous and low-lying areas to evacuate to escape possible mudslides and flooding.

  The National Disaster Prevention and Relief Center said that more than 200 people are sheltering in five shelter stations. In Hsinchu County's Wufeng Township, which is still reeling from a landslide tragedy during Typhoon Aere last month, 85 people from the indigenous Maopu community were evacuated to Wufeng Elementary School. Forty-seven villagers in Ta'ai village were also relocated to Wufeng's health bureau for their safety.

  A total of 377,594 households suffered power losses yesterday. Electricity has been restored to almost all of them, the National Disaster Prevention and Relief Center said.

  Trains between Taipei, Keelung and Toucheng in Ilan County were canceled yesterday. Airports in Pingtung City and Hengchun were also closed yesterday, as were airports at Chimei and Wangan in Penghu County.

  To ease flooding in Taipei City, Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday morning ordered the Water Res-ources Agency to open the Yuanshanzai flood-diversion sluice ahead of schedule to ease the burden placed on the Keelung River. The level of the river had reached an alarming height downstream because of the incessant rain on Friday night. Since then, the level of the river has fallen slightly.

  The weekend-long downpour may change into sporadic but strong showers in the north, though the unstable weather system could still dump rain on central and southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Bureau said.

  With Typhoon Haima and a tropical depression hovering nearby, and Typhoon Songda's airstreams lingering, another wave of torrential rain could hit anywhere in the country early next week, said Wu Te-jung (吳德榮), vice director of the bureau's forecast center.

  "From Monday, the rain across the island will slowly subside into regional showers. But the process will only be gradual, depending on how the high-pressure system in the Western Pacific develops in the next few days," Wu told the Taipei Times.

  "But sudden showers could still trigger flash mudslides and flooding. The whole island will be on a heavy rain alert in the next few days. Everyone should brace for further activity," he said.
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