Torrential rain that began on Saturday night has caused flooding in central and southern parts of the country, damaging roads and forcing more than 500 people to evacuate.
The Pingtung County Fire Department helped move six elderly residents from a nursing home in Gaoshu Township (高樹) as a surging river threatened to flood the area.
The only access to the county’s Wutai Township (霧台) was cut off by landslides on two sections of Highway No. 24. The electrical grid in Wutai was also damaged by rain.
Photo: Lo Hsin-chen, Taipei Times
Residents in Sihgou Village (泗溝) in Wanluan Township (萬巒) had to wade through thigh-high floodwater to leave.
Laiyi Township (來義) also evacuated residents.
The Directorate-General of Highways closed the makeshift road on the Central Cross-Island Highway after a huge landslide was reported at section 79K of the highway.
Three farmers who were picking vegetables at the time fled to avoid injury.
Between 12am and 7pm yesterday, Shangdewen (上德文) in Sandimen Township (三地門) in Pingtung received 504mm of rain. Dahanshan (大漢山) in Chunrih Township (春日) and Weiliaoshan (尾寮山) in Sandimen Township had accumulations of 458mm and 412mm respectively.
All the locations had what the Central Weather Bureau defines as extremely torrential rain — meaning that accumulated rainfall reached 350mm within a period of 24 hours.
Because the rain is expected to continue, the Executive Yuan has asked the public to avoid mountainous or coastal areas during this period of time.
Southern parts of the country can expect extremely heavy rain over the next two days, while the weather in other parts of Taiwan will also be rainy due to an air front from the southwest, the bureau said.
Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) has asked relevant ministries to take precautionary measures and support local governments if rescue efforts are needed, the Cabinet said in a statement yesterday.
Two emergency response centers have been opened in southern Taiwan, and the Council of Agriculture has a task force on standby to respond to mudslides, the Cabinet said.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs also has a task force ready to distribute water pumps in the event of flooding, it added.
The public is urged to avoid traveling near waterways, the Cabinet said.
In northern and northeastern areas of the country, afternoon thundershowers can be expected for the next two days, it said.
Kaohsiung and Pingtung could continue to experience extremely heavy showers, with up to 350mm of rainfall possible within a 24 hour period, the bureau said.
Heavy rain could also be expected in northern Taiwan after tomorrow, it said.
Additional reporting by CNA
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS