One person was dead and another was reported missing in Greater Tainan in flooding caused by torrential rain, the Tainan City Fire Bureau said yesterday.
The victim was identified as a 75-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), whose body was found in Rende District (仁德) in the evening. The missing person was identified as a 48-year-old woman surnamed Hsieh (謝).
The floodwaters also forced the evacuation of about 24 elderly residents at the Wuja Education and Nursing Institute in Gueiren District (歸仁). Two industrial zones in the district were also severely damaged by the floods.
Photo: CNA
Flooding was also reported in Yongkang District (永康). Kun Shan University, which is in Yongkang, announced the cancellation of day classes today.
TV footage showed residents of the most-affected areas treading through knee-high floodwaters.
The Central Weather Bureau said the heavy rains began at 4am yesterday. Between 4am and 5am, the highest accumulation was reported in Yongkang, at 81.5mm.
Between 5am to 6am, as 61mm of rain fell over Yongkang, the hourly rate of rainfall in Sinshih District (新市) and Gueiren exceeded 77.5mm and 72mm respectively.
The top five areas of accumulated rainfall were all within Greater Tainan, with each having accumulated total rainfall exceeding 200mm.
By 7pm, the bureau’s observation station at the Matsu Temple in Gueiren had received 271.5mm, the highest in the country. This was followed by Ciding Borough (崎頂) in Longci District (龍崎), Shalun Borough (沙崙) in Gueiren, Yongkang Borough in Yongkang District and Hutoupi (虎頭埤) in Sinhua District (新化), with 252.5mm, 245.5mm, 228.5mm and 212mm respectively.
Heavy rainfall also caused damage in Greater Kaohsiung and forced the closure of Chongde Bridge in Tianliao District (田寮).
Access roads to four Aboriginal communities in the district were interrupted due to landslides and road damage on Highway 20.
The bureau said the rain was expected to ease by tomorrow, when a frontal system gradually moves south to the Bashi Channel. The chance of showers will remain high in eastern parts of the country after the frontal system’s departure. Cloudy to sunny weather is expected for the rest of the nation.
In related news, the Directorate-General of Highways said drivers should proceed with caution on the Suhua Highway, which was reopened to traffic yesterday.
The highway was closed due to damage caused by heavy rains on May 12.
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
RSS