Typhoon Trami causes heavy floods in Kaohsiung but no casualties reported

Typhoon Trami passed over the southern tip of Taiwan and offshore islands yesterday, disrupting air traffic, causing heavy flooding in some areas and triggering a power blackout in Kaohsiung City.

As of press time, there were no reports of injuries, and property damage was minimal.

While Trami was originally expected to pack a strong punch it gradually weakened as it neared the island's southern tip. When it passed over the southern tip Wednesday evening, the typhoon had already been downgraded to a tropical depression. The depression will continue to move northwest at an average of 10kph with sustained winds of up to 85kph, the Central Weather Bureau said.

The storm first made landfall in Taitung County at 5pm yesterday evening, bringing heavy rains to Taiwan's outlying Green and Lanyu islands as well as Pingtung County and Kaohsiung City and county.

In Kaohsiung, nearly 3,000 residents lost power when flooding tripped power from a nearby electrical transformer.

Most of Kaohsiung City was flooded when the city's Ai River (愛河) rose over its dikes to its highest level in 20 years. Officials said the excessive flooding was caused by a combination of high tides and heavy rains brought on by the storm.

Many cars were stranded on city streets, especially nearby the river, and transportation was crippled. The city government helped some citizens move their cars to nearby schools where they could park to avoid being flooded.

Kaohsiung City train station was also flooded during the storm.

The storm was the second to hit Taiwan in recent days. Typhoon Utor side-swiped Taiwan a week ago and cut a swathe of destruction through the Philippines and southern China, killing more than 150 people.