The passage of Typhoon Talim, which entered southeastern China yesterday afternoon after being weakened by the mountains of Taiwan, left its mark throughout the country because of its strong winds and heavy rains.
Talim cut power lines, toppled billboards and tore up trees, while heavy rain led to flooding in some towns in central Taiwan.
Forecasters said that residents in the south should remain alert to heavy rain in the following days because of unstable currents wandering around southwestern Taiwan.
As of press time, statistics released by the Executive Yuan suggested that Talim has caused three deaths and left 59 people injured, 787,000 families without electricity, 48,000 household users without water supply and 287,000 users of fixed telephone lines disconnected.
One 67-year-old man surnamed Chen (陳) was drowned in a channel near his house, in Peimen (北門) Township, Tainan County. A 43-year-old man, surnamed Lou (羅), was also drowned in an irrigation channel near his house in Taian (泰安) Township, Miaoli County.
According to the Executive Yuan, most victims received their injuries after being hit by falling shop signs or other flying items.
Officials said at least 1,207 residents in remote townships in six counties had been relocated in 47 temporary shelters for the sake of safety.
"The winds were really fierce and it was very dangerous driving through the torrential rains last night," said a taxi driver surnamed Tsai. "I heard a loud bang and saw scaffolding had crashed into the street right next to my car. It was a close shave."
Beginning yesterday, flights resumed at local airports and the trains restarted their operations.
As of 5pm yesterday, the financial losses in the agriculture sector had exceeded NT$358 million, as crop farms, fish ponds and other facilities had been flooded.
The Central Weather Bureau yesterday afternoon lifted the land warning for the storm, but reminded people in the south of inevitable torrential rains in the following days. By press time, accumulative rainfall measured in Taoyuan (
Hsieh Ming-chang (
"We predict that accumulative rainfall will exceed 1,000mm in the south and 800mm in other places," Hsieh said.
also see stories:
Talim cuts into Taoyuan's water
Editorial: Learning respect for typhoons
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
RSS