In central Taiwan, Typhoon Bilis triggered mudflows and landslides yesterday, destroying homes in its path and leaving thousands stranded in remote mountainous areas.
A landslide caused by the torrential downpour of the typhoon buried eight honey-peach farmers alive, including a six-year-old girl, in a farmer's hut at about 3am yesterday in the mountainous region of Jenai township (
"Aboriginal tribes in the mountains are encountering more problems in general at this point. But villagers in Puli (
PHOTO: AFP
Over 120 houses and buildings in the mountainous areas of Nantou were toppled or damaged by the typhoon. Some residents are being temporarily sheltered in school buildings.
"We have asked the county government for further help but haven't received a response yet," said Li Wen-hsuan (
Last year's 921 earthquake stripped many mountainsides of trees, raising the risk of mudslides during heavy rains.
A number of mudflows disrupted local transportation.
The typhoon also caused power shortages and cut off telephone services in some areas.
Many Aboriginal tribes were left in need of clean drinking water as the spring water they previously relied on became turbid with the mud brought by the typhoon.
"They need at least 1,000 cases of bottle water," said Li.
Moreover, some residents stranded in the areas have called for medical supplies for patients with chronic diseases and children that became sick after drinking unclean water. In addition, they are also at risk of running out of food.
Some areas in Puli township were damaged by Typhoon Bilis. The typhoon ripped off roofs -- made of plastic -- of over 20 wooden-walled houses put up for local victims of the last year's earthquake in Niuwei Community (
"We've got nothing now," said Chen Man (
"I thought there was no way for us to escape," said Chiang Hsueh-mei (
Meanwhile, Puli's Neipu (內埔) area remains threatened by mudflows. "The old dam here is almost over burdened, on top of which we found several cracks in the dam after the quake," said Chang Chung-chi (張仲齊), a local volunteer.
"The village is located only a few hundred meters downstream from the dam. There will be a disaster if the dam can't stop the mudflows," he said. "The government doesn't seem willing to help rebuild the dam right away. But villagers here are too poor to move away."
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique