Thousands stranded while many still remain missing

After typhoon Toraji left Taiwan yesterday, rescue efforts continued for 108 people still missing as of press time yesterday and many others whose whereabouts were known but who remained stranded.

Fan Ming-kai (范明鎧), a resident of the Fenglin area of Hualien County, who survived a flood which destroyed his family's home Sunday night, spoke of his experience.

"The flood gushed into our house and the force of it swept me off my feet," Fan said. "I couldn't hold onto the bars on the window and was dragged along in the torrent of water into a nearby river. I continued to be swept along until I was stopped by a broken dike.

"I kept hearing the roar of the river and collided with rocks in the water along the way," Fan said.

Yesterday morning, one of Fan's friends discovered him in a tree, which he had climbed after hitting the dike. He then asked rescuers to search for his family.

His father, Fan Shih-hsien (范思賢), 60, and brother-in-law Hsu Chin-cheng (許金城), 32, are both known to have died in the mudslide. Hsu and his wife Fan Ming-chih (范明之) lived in Taipei but they had visited Hualien to spend the weekend with Fan's family. Fan's mother and three siblings are missing.

Rescuers have been kept busy throughout the nation. "We do not know the total number of people stranded. There are just too many cases," said a fireman from Hualien County's fire department.

The Nantou County Fire department estimated at 11pm yesterday that over 10,000 people remained stranded in the county and that 30 people were still in need of rescue by helicopter.

The Kaohsiung County fire department said Kaohsiung firemen had rescued 52 county residents as of yesterday evening.

"Most were stranded on sandbanks or low-lying ground because of rising floodwaters," said Huang Jue-hung (黃瑞宏), a Kaohsiung fireman. "Some farmers were stuck in their fields while trying to save crops from the typhoon."

Fast-moving waters prevented rescuers from reaching victims. "We had to choose rescuers with boating experience to pick up some victims," Huang said.

Others, who were impossible to reach with boats, had to be rescued by helicopter.

A fireman surnamed Yang (楊) from Changhua County (彰化縣) said 100 children whose kindergarten had been flooded were stranded on the building's second floor before rescue boats arrived.

Also stranded was Nantou County Commissioner Peng Pai-hsien (彭百顯), who, along with 20 of his staff, was staying in a resort hotel located in the mountains.

The group had been discussing a project for the mental rehabilitation of victims of the 921 earthquake.

Some Nantou residents complained about the late announcement of cancellation of work at 8am yesterday, which resulted in them becoming stranded in the typhoon on the way to their workplaces.

Peng said the Central Weather Bureau's forecast indicated that the typhoon's threat to Nantou County had not reached the level at which work would be canceled.

"I made the decision when I saw mudslides pouring into the hotel's lobby at 7am," he said.

Peng and his group were rescued late last night.