Krosa leaves few dead, heavy flooding

Typhoon Krosa pounded the nation with powerful winds and torrential rains yesterday, causing a small number of deaths and injuries, precipitating flooding in low-lying areas and cutting power to nearly half a million homes.

The storm turned south before pirouetting off the coast of Hualien City and heading northwest at between 11kph and 14kph toward Ilan and Taipei counties. At 9pm the center of the storm was located over the ocean, 70km northeast of Hualien City. It was packing sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of just under 200kph. The area of the storm was unchanged, with a 300km radius.

The storm was downgraded from a super typhoon around the time that it headed south. Central Weather Bureau (CWB) official Tsai Fu-dien (蔡甫甸) said that the eye of Krosa could no longer be seen by satellite.

In Taipei, violent winds uprooted trees and damaged billboards and ripped signs off the sides of buildings. Shops and offices were mostly closed and most residents stayed home.

Eight people were stuck on Hsin-an Road in Yangmingshan (陽明山) after a small landslide hit a house. Although all occupants were later rescued by police, one died on the way to hospital.

Late yesterday afternoon in Hsinchu City, a man in his 70s fell to his death after attempting to fix a leaking roof in the driving rain.

A man was missing and presumed trapped by mud and debris in an employee dormitory at a hot spring resort in Chienshih Township (尖石), Hsinchu County.

Meanwhile, an Ilan County woman was hit by falling glass that cut into a neck artery when she was watching the typhoon from her balcony. She was in stable condition after treatment.

The Cabinet's emergency response center said a 66-year-old woman in Taipei City suffered cuts to her head, arms and legs when a glass window at her home broke and hit her. A 50-year-old woman injured her elbow when she was knocked to the ground by heavy winds while riding her motorcycle.

Low-lying areas in Taipei, including Beitou (北投) and Shilin (士林) districts, suffered serious flooding.

Nangang District (南港) experienced a 20-minute blackout as strong winds knocked telephone poles to the ground.

Beitou borough chief Lee Mei-li (李美麗) said the city government had sent 11 pumps to pump out water but still failed to prevent flooding owing to heavy rains.

Taipei City Government later called on residents in low-lying areas, including Hsiushan (秀山) and Datun (大屯) boroughs, to evacuate to higher places to avoid possible floods and landslides.

In Taipei County, officials warned drivers to avoid using the Gongliao (貢寮) section of the West Coast Highway because of sea water encroachment.

Residents near Sindian River (新店溪) were also evacuated.

Heavy rains also caused flooding in Sanchong City (三重) and Wanli Township (萬里).

In Taichung a woman was injured by a falling sheet of iron while riding on a scooter.

A man sitting in a hut in a parking lot in the city was slightly injured when a tree fell on top of the hut. Another woman and her daughter were slightly injured when a dislodged commercial sign fell and hit their car.

SETV reported a number of people told the station that they felt dizzy staying in tall buildings because of the swaying.

TV cable news channels showed a number of motorcycles blown over by the strong wind. A bridge in Miaoli County was destroyed by the raging river.