Typhoon Saola pounded the nation with fierce winds and torrential rain yesterday, leaving five people dead, two missing and 16 injured.
According to information from the Central Emergency Operation Center, as of press time, one man in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Sansia Township (三峽) was buried in a mudslide, the 50-year-old director of New Taipei City’s Zuntou Police Station, Wang Ming-hsiang (王明祥), died of a heart attack while patroling landslide-prone areas; a motorcyclist was killed after he crashed into a toppled tree in Chiayi County; and a couple were buried by mudslides on their farm in Yilan, the center said.
In Taipei, more than 700 people living in old communities or hillsides were evacuated due to flooding and landslides that caused damage in Wenshan (文山), Beitou (北投) and Shilin (士林) districts.
Photo: Sam yeh, AFP
Severe flooding was also reported in Yilan County, New Taipei City and Taoyuan County. Approximately 6,700 households in New Taipei City, Hsinchu, Nantou, Changhua and Yilan were left without water.
The Ministry of National Defense, which had ordered more than 45,000 soldiers to be on stand-by, mobilized amphibious vehicles to rescue residents trapped in chest-deep water in Yilan County. Television news footage showed residents in Yilan’s Wujie Township (五結) wading through the floodwater, which at one point rose to their chests.
The Central Emergency Operation Center estimated that more than 6,000 residents in 14 cities and counties were evacuated, 2,800 of whom stayed in temporary shelters. Electricity to more than 177,000 households nationwide was cut at one point.
Photo: Peng Chien-li, Taipei City
Media reports also showed hectares of flooded farmland in low-lying coastal areas and scenes of overflowing rivers and roads blocked by mudslides in the nation’s mountainous center.
The transportation system was also disrupted by the stormy weather. The air bridge at the D10 boarding gate at Terminal Two of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport was knocked down by gusts of wind. Nobody was injured in the incident. The D8 boarding gate was also damaged when the axle of supporting wheels under the air bridge broke.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration said 206 domestic flights and 103 international flights were either delayed or canceled because of the storm as of 5pm yesterday.
Photo: Hsieh Chia-chun, Taipei Times
The Taiwan Railway Administration canceled all of its express train services on both the east coast and west coast routes, while the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp adjusted its services as well.
Photographs taken from a rescue helicopter showed that landslides occurred in more than two dozen sections along the Suhua Highway, one of the main passages connecting eastern and western Taiwan.
Information from the Central Weather Bureau showed Saola made landfall at Hualien County at 3:20am yesterday. The storm twirled on the spot and veered off the coast again.
Photo: Hsieh Chia-chun, Taipei Times
At around 2pm, Saola was downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm after its structure was partially altered by its contact with land. It then made landfall again at Sandiaojiao (三貂角). As of 7:30pm, the center of Saola was 60km north of Taipei, moving northwest at 16kph.
Bureau forecaster Hsieh Ming-chang (謝明昌) said that Taiwan proper could be out of the storm’s reach by noon today if Saola continues on the same course at the same speed.
“The rain could ease nationwide after the storm moves away today,” he added.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
According to the bureau, Taipingshan (太平山) in Yilan County had the highest accumulated rainfall yesterday, topping 1,800mm.
The bureau also reported that a tropical depression lurking off the northern coast of Guam could potentially turn into a tropical storm.
Meanwhile, as of 4pm, agricultural losses had reached NT$218.54 million, the Council of Agriculture said.
The Ministry of Education reported an initial NT$650,000 in damage to schools, saying that schools in Yilan County had suffered the worst damage.
In anticipation of heavy wind and rain brought by the typhoon, classes and work were suspended everywhere yesterday except for Taitung County.
Several festivals around the nation were also postponed and forest parks closed due to the threat from Saola, with officials warning the public not to visit such places out of safety concerns.
The Taipei Children’s Arts Festival was closed yesterday, while the Yilan International Children’s Folklore and Folkgame Festival in Yilan County was scheduled to remain closed today.
A children’s arts festival in New Taipei City was also closed, along with the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park in Taipei.
Eighteen forest recreation and national parks, including Alishan (阿里山), Kenting (墾丁), Taipingshan (太平山) and Hehuanshan (合歡山) park were also closed yesterday.
The Forestry Bureau warned the public not to visit the parks or mountain trails and said the parks will only reopen after officials have inspected them and confirmed them to be safe after the typhoon has left.
Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih
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