Heavy rain continued to fall in Taitung County yesterday, bringing the total to 200mm since Wednesday and prompting the county government to activate a disaster reaction team.
Travel on some roads has been hampered by falling rocks or landslides, while one person, 72-year-old former Luye Township (鹿野) administration office secretary Hsu Kuo-ko (徐國科), drowned -after slipping and falling into a ditch as he closed a water gate in his fields.
By 6pm, the Changbin (長濱) area had received 334mm of rain, Chenggong (成功) 311mm, with other areas receiving about 200mm.
Photo: CNA
Taitung City also experienced flooding in some areas, causing difficulty for residents as they tried to leave their homes.
Meanwhile, the Hualien area received more than 300mm of rain by yesterday, with heavy rain causing rock falls along the Suhua Highway and the Central Cross-island Highway.
At least 10 vehicles have been hit by falling rocks.
The Directorate-General of Highways called on drivers to find alternate routes from the Suhua or Central Cross-Island highways to avoid accidents or being hit by falling rocks.
The Central Weather Bureau said the heavy rainfall in eastern and southern parts of the country was likely to continue until tomorrow, when the effects of a cloud band in the south are expected weaken.
Other regions affected by heavy rain include Shoufeng (壽豐) and Sioulin (秀林) townships in Hualien County and Mudan Township (牡丹) in Pingtung County.
“The ground in these areas is rain-soaked, which makes conditions very unstable,” forecaster Lin Pin-yu (林秉煜) said, adding that residents should remain on high alert.
While the weather in those areas could stabilize after the weekend, Lin said, more rain could be expected in northern and northeastern parts of the country from Monday when a cold front from Siberia moves down.
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