At least four people died after Typhoon Nock-Ten pounded northern Taiwan with heavy rains and strong winds yesterday. Forecasters from the Central Weather Bureau said yesterday that the weather might turn mild today but lower temperatures are expected.
Beginning Sunday night, the weather in the nation had become affected by the passage of Nock-Ten. Bureau officials said that the typhoon landed on Toucheng in Ilan yesterday morning and left Taiwan from Tamsui in Taipei County at 1:15pm. Forecasters said that Nock-Ten changed its direction gradually toward the northeast.
PHOTO: TANG SHENG-YANG, TAIPEI TIMES
According to the bureau, Nock-Ten was centered at a position at sea 80km north of Taipei at 4pm yesterday, and will be 540km northeast of Taipei at 2pm today.
More than 5,300 foreign fishermen were allowed to shelter in harbors and buildings on land, according to the Cabinet's National Disaster Prevention and Relief Center.
In nine affected areas, blasts of wind blew shop signs and street lights to the ground and damaged trees. In northern Taiwan, the water surface of the Tamsui, Keeling, Dahan and Sindian Rivers exceeded alarming levels. Accumulated rainfall from midnight on Sunday to 5pm yesterday exceed 300mm in many places in Taipei and Taoyuan Counties, as well as Taipei City.
However, the worst situation was reported in Taipei County, where the Keelung River rose suddenly due to heavy rains.
As of press time, the Taipei County Government reported four deaths related to the storm. Rescuers recovered the body of a television reporter near a spillway tunnel in Rueifang. The body of fireman Chen Chih-hsiang (
Meanwhile, two residents of Shuangsi were drowned by floods while in their homes. In addition, in Wanli, a woman falling into a swollen river yesterday afternoon was reported missing.
The deaths resulting from the passage of Nock-Ten shocked high ranking officials. President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday afternoon inspected the Cabinet's disaster relief center, urging the establishment of crisis consciousness.
"Heavy rains in the north will continue, so government officials at all levels -- and residents -- have to be highly alert for possible disasters," Chen said.
Chen also said he was very sorry for the victims of the typhoon.
Yesterday morning, the Council of Agriculture (COA) issued landslide and mudflow warnings to residents in 52 areas in three townships in Taoyuan and Hsinchu counties. However, 507 residents of the three townships, including Wufeng, Janshih and Fuhsing, have been evacuated to 13 shelters since Sunday evening.
Taipei City Government yesterday distributed 360 water pumps for all boroughs to use. Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Around the country, a number of crop fields and aquatic farms in northern and eastern parts of Taiwan were washed away. In addition, many agricultural facilities were also ruined. According to the COA, estimated financial losses in the agricultural sector has reached NT$166.56 million as of yesterday.
Also See Story:
Premier Yu finds route to inspection blocked by rockfall
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
COOPERATION: Taiwan is aligning closely with US strategic objectives on various matters, including China’s rare earths restrictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan could deal with China’s tightened export controls on rare earth metals by turning to “urban mining,” a researcher said yesterday. Rare earth metals, which are used in semiconductors and other electronic components, could be recovered from industrial or electronic waste to reduce reliance on imports, National Cheng Kung University Department of Resources Engineering professor Lee Cheng-han (李政翰) said. Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually rare — their abundance in the Earth’s crust is relatively high, but they are dispersed, making extraction and refining energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, he said, adding that many countries have opted to
FORCED LABOR: A US court listed three Taiwanese and nine firms based in Taiwan in its indictment, with eight of the companies registered at the same address Nine companies registered in Taiwan, as well as three Taiwanese, on Tuesday were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) as a result of a US federal court indictment. The indictment unsealed at the federal court in Brooklyn, New York, said that Chen Zhi (陳志), a dual Cambodian-British national, is being indicted for fraud conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding Group’s forced-labor scam camps in Cambodia. At its peak, the company allegedly made US$30 million per day, court documents showed. The US government has seized Chen’s noncustodial wallet, which contains
SUPPLY CHAIN: Taiwan’s advantages in the drone industry include rapid production capacity that is independent of Chinese-made parts, the economic ministry said The Executive Yuan yesterday approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion (US$1.44 billion) into domestic production of uncrewed aerial vehicles over the next six years, bringing Taiwan’s output value to more than NT$40 billion by 2030 and making the nation Asia’s democratic hub for the drone supply chain. The proposed budget has NT$33.8 billion in new allocations and NT$10.43 billion in existing funds, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Under the new development program, the public sector would purchase nearly 100,000 drones, of which 50,898 would be for civil and government use, while 48,750 would be for national defense, it said. The Ministry of
RSS