Days of heavy rain have flooded many areas in central and southern Taiwan, disrupting transportation and causing the death of a woman in Nantou County.
The rain was the result of a front, which arrived over the nation last week after Tropical Storm Wutip broke up on Thursday.
Chen Ai-chu (陳愛珠), 54, was buried alive by mudflows in the backyard of her house in Nantou's Puli Township (埔里). Her body was later retrieved from the debris.
Three people were reported trapped on a sand bar in Dali Township (
Meanwhile, the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) yesterday morning to canceled all southbound trains operating on the South Link (南迴鐵路), as rain continued to fall on the Linbien (林邊) section in Pingtung County making it unsafe to operate.
Travelers on northbound trains, on the other hand, were able to get off at Fangliao (坊寮) and to take shuttle buses to Kaohsiung and Pingtung.
The coastal highway in Pingtung (Provincial Highway No.17) was also closed because of flooding.
Floods were reported in Pingtung's Donggang Township (東港), Jiadong Township (佳冬) and Majia Township (瑪家).
Landslides were reported on six sections along the Southern Cross-Island Highway (
Some sections along the Alishan Forest Railway were either covered with mud or stones or otherwise damaged, forcing the railway to shut down for the day.
A Mandarin Airlines flight departing from Taipei at 5:55pm to Kaohsiung was canceled yesterday.
Other flights to Kaohsiung, Taitung and Kinmen were delayed. Heavy rain also delayed the departures of some international flights from Kaohsiung Airport.
Three thousand tourists were trapped on Green Island yesterday as all flights and sailings to the island were canceled. A report from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said that the trapped tourists have been put up in hotels on the island.
About 370 tourists were stuck in the Guguan (谷關) area of Taichung County as mudflows damaged Provincial Highway 8.
The Directorate General of Highways said that the rain had damaged 16 provincial highways and two county highways. Eight had not resumed normal operations as of press time.
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