Typhoon Nari pounded northern Taiwan yesterday, leaving as many as 34 people dead and families searching for missing relatives.
Across the nation, 94 people were reported injured as of press time last night.
PHOTO: LIAO RAY-SHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
More than 800,000 Taipei area families were left in the dark after the typhoon cut electricity supplies. Another 300,000 were left without a dial tone.
In addition to disrupted train and flight schedules, Taipei's mass rapid transit system was completely shut down due to heavy flooding at some stations along the Nankang-Panchiao line.
Nari, the 16th typhoon of the year and the third to make landfall, was expected to leave Taiwan at around 2pm today, moving in a south-westerly direction from Chiayi County.
The typhoon's heavy rainfall has resulted in the worst flooding in the greater Taipei area in 50 years.
According to the National Fire Administration, waters in some parts of Hsihchih in Taipei County rose three stories high. In Keelung the flooding was one story high.
Some low-lying areas in Taipei City were also flooded. They included the Neihu, Wenshan, Shihlin, Nankang, Hsinyi and Chungshan districts.
As of midnight, in Taipei City 16 people were reported dead and 80 injured, according to the National Fire Administration. In Taipei County, 10 people were reported dead while eight people were reported dead in Keelung. Others were still missing.
George Lu (呂國臣), a meteorologist at the Central Weather Bureau, said that Nari -- already dubbed the "weirdest storm in Taiwan's history" because of its unpredictable path -- broke many records in terms of its course, the duration of its stay and the amount of rainfall it delivered.
"While most typhoons travel in either a parabolic curve or straight line, Typhoon Nari trailed on a bow-shaped course back and forth in the Pacific Ocean," Lu said.
Lu added that it was because the typhoon traveled at such a slow speed -- 4kph to 6kph -- that a substantial amount of rainfall was recorded during its 40-hour visit.
"While the previous highest daily amount of rainfall in Taipei City was recorded at 358mm, we saw over 400mm yesterday alone," Lu said. "And while most typhoons linger for between 11 and 12 hours after making landfall, Nari has stayed for over 19 hours now," he said at about 5pm yesterday.
Inspecting one of the hardest hit areas in Hsichih, Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) called on other areas spared by the typhoon to help in relief efforts.
"We have mobilized the military to help in the relief efforts, and we definitely need more help from the public," Chang said.
Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
"I also call on the public to be patient with the city's efforts in pumping out water, because we have only a limited number of water pumps," Ma said.
Ma said the cause of yesterday's flooding was primarily the result of the extremely heavy rainfall rather than poor city infrastructure.
"I know it's not fair to say so because there's still plenty of room for improvement in the city's sewage system, but it's true that the city has never seen so much rainfall in one day," Ma said.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS