The nation yesterday struggled to recover from the devastation caused by Typhoon Soudelor, with about 240,000 households nationwide still left without electricity as of press time last night.
The Central Weather Bureau lifted both sea and land warnings for Typhoon Soudelor at 8:30am yesterday after it moved toward China’s Fujian Province. Statistics from the Ministry of the Interior showed that the strongest typhoon the nation has faced this year killed seven people and left five missing.
The number of people injured during the typhoon had risen to 402.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) said in a written statement said that work to restore power was restricted because either road access to disaster-stricken zones was cut off or power facilities were covered by fallen trees, adding that it had to wait for highway authorities and local governments to remove obstacles so that work could begin.
Taipower said that about 4.3 million households had experienced power failure on Saturday because of the typhoon, the highest number that the company had ever handled, adding that the number had dwindled to 236,980 by 7:16pm.
The National Airborne Service Corps was dispatched to airlift 13 people from the mountainous area in New Taipei City’s Wulai District (烏來) to receive medical treatment as the area remained cut off from the rest of the city because of severely damaged roads. Helicopters were also sent to deliver 700kg of food and other life-sustaining items to residents in the area. A photograph taken from an airborne helicopter showed that the river in Wulai had burst its banks.
Photo: CNA
Hot-spring pipelines on both sides of the river were destroyed by the flood.
The Directorate-General of Highways said that the section between Kueishan Bridge (龜山橋) and Wulai on the Highway No. 9 — the only way to reach Old Street in Wulai — suffered serious erosion of the roadbed, adding that reconstruction work can only be completed using heavy machinery. It estimated that Wulai would not be accessible to the general public until Sunday.
To assist the New Taipei City Government in rescuing people still trapped in Wulai, the Ministry of National Defense sent 36 members of the Army Special Combat Forces and four Hummers.
While the rest of the nation managed to weather the storm, clean water supply also became an issue.
Many supermarkets were sold out of bottled water as people finding tap water too turbid to use searched for cleaner alternatives.
The Taipei Water Department said that the turbidity of the water from the Sindian River (新店溪), which is a source of tap water, had at one point escalated to 30,000 nephelometric turbidity units (NTU), or five times more than the maximum capacity of the water treatment facility.
Though the turbidity had dropped to 4,500 NTUs, people are advised to boil water before drinking it, the department said.
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport has had to deal with a huge backlog of flight passengers, as 366 flights were canceled on Saturday due to the arrival of the typhoon.
It said that 120,000 passengers were at the airport yesterday, which is equivalent to the volume that the airport saw during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition, agricultural damage caused by Typhoon Soudelor was estimated at NT$600 million (US$18.9 million).
The government received a total of 23,953 disaster reports from the public. A total of 6,470 cases were related to fallen trees, which was the highest among all the other disaster categories.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old