A front hovering over the nation since Friday has brought torrential rainfall, floods and landslides which have left two people dead, five injured and two missing.
A Central Weather Bureau observation station in Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District (桃源) measured 1.339m of rainfall between Friday and yesterday, the highest in the nation.
According to the Taoyuan District Office, average rainfall in the district is 2.7575m per year.
Photo: Lee Jung-ping, Taipei Times
It was followed by Chiayi County’s Alishan Township (阿里山) and Nantou County’s Shenmu Village (神木村), which saw rainfall of 1.1645m and 1.122m, respectively, the bureau said.
One of the dead was found in a culvert in New Taipei City’s Bali District (八里) on Friday afternoon, after she and her motorcycle were carried away by floodwaters, Central Emergency Operation Center information showed.
Flooding also killed a man in New Taipei City’s Shimen District (石門), whose body was found on Saturday morning near his house.
Photo: Chen Wen-chan, Taipei Times
Meanwhile, three people in Keelung were injured. Among them was a child who was swept away by floodwaters while waiting at a bus stop.
The other two people sustained injuries while they were trapped in a basement.
Injuries were also reported in New Taipei City’s Gongliao (貢寮) and Shimen districts. The former involved a truck driver who was hurt after his truck overturned on a coastal highway. In the latter incident a man was injured in a landslide.
Photo: CNA
As of press time last night, rescuers were still trying to locate two people missing in Keelung and Nantou counties.
In addition, 15 mountain climbers were forced to take shelter at a forest workers’ dormitory in Shei-Pa National Park (雪霸國家公園) due to the rising level of a creek making it impossible to cross.
Incessant rainfall also caused 11 houses in Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan and Lioukuei (六龜) districts to collapse and be carried away by a river yesterday afternoon. No one was killed or injured, as the residents had evacuated in time.
Photo courtesy of the Third District Maintenance Construction Office
The nation yesterday began to gradually resume normal road, rail and air transport operations. In total, 20 domestic flights were canceled and five were delayed. Two international flights were delayed.
In addition, eight road sections on provincial highways No. 8, No. 14, No. 20, No. 24 and No. 29 remained closed to traffic yesterday due to road damage caused by landslides.
The front will gradually move away from Taiwan today, although chances of heavy or extremely heavy rainfall are still high across the nation, the bureau said.
Photo courtesy of the Third District Maintenance Construction Office
Cloudy skies are forecast from tomorrow through Thursday, although chances for afternoon storms remain high in some regions.
Photo: CNA
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
RSS