Nation wet, thirsty after Talim leaves

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 (桃源) Township, Kaohsiung County, had reached 736mm. On Alishan (阿里山), rainfall of 719mm was measured.

Hsieh Ming-chang (謝明昌), a division chief at the CWB's meteorology division, said that in the following days, residents in mountainous areas in central and southern Taiwan have to remain alert for heavy rains.

"We predict that accumulative rainfall will exceed 1,000mm in the south and 800mm in other places," Hsieh said.

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