Three people died and 376 were injured as Typhoon Dujuan pummeled the nation with torrential rainfall and strong winds, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday.
Among the three people killed was a 70-year-old man in New Taipei City’s Tucheng District (土城), who fell to the ground and died after being blown over by a gust of wind.
A 54-year-old worker in Taichung was flung into the air by strong winds as he stood on a corrugated steel sheet on a fence near a construction site.
Photo: Chiang Chih-hsiung, Taipei Times
He died after falling from a height of about 3m.
The third person killed was a 41-year-old woman surnamed Yu (余), who died after sustaining serious injuries in a car accident during the storm.
By 8am yesterday, about 12,000 people had been evacuated, the center said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The typhoon disrupted water and power supplies in northern Taiwan.
Data from Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) showed that electricity was not available for more than 2.27 million households at one point.
Taipower said that by 6:30pm yesterday, 119,048 households had yet to regain power supplies.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan Water Corp suspended the water supply to almost 150,000 households and reduced water pressure to 145,200 households over high river turbidity.
The water company said normal water supply would resume completely by 6am today.
The nation’s main transportation systems had largely resumed normal operations yesterday.
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp began train operations at 11:30am yesterday from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung high-speed rail stations to facilitate the transportation of passengers, many of whom are to return to work today,
The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) reported severe damage to the North Link Railway and resumed services nationwide by 6pm yesterday, although trains could only operate on one set of tracks in some sections.
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport estimated that about 126,000 passengers accessed the airport yesterday as airlines resumed flights, with passengers beginning to line up at check-in counters as early as 4:30am.
Though the Central Weather Bureau had not lifted sea and land alerts by 5:30pm yesterday, the wind and rain brought by Dujuan had largely eased by early yesterday morning.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications apologized to the public for crowds in railway stations on Monday, which was the last day of the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.
Deputy Minister Tseng Dar-jen (曾大仁) said the ministry would henceforth activate emergency transport plans as soon as a land alert for a typhoon is announced during a major national holiday.
When the occurrence of a typhoon coincides with any of the nation’s major holidays, alternative transportation methods would be arranged for the high-speed rail system, TRA systems, then buses, in that order, Tseng said.
People would be given maximum flexibility if they ask for a refund or to exchange for train tickets departing on other days given the extenuating circumstances, Tseng added.
The high-speed rail system transported 180,000 passengers between 6am and 3pm on Monday, Tseng said.
In the past, the system could transport up to 240,000 passengers per day.
ELIGIBLE FOR JANUARY: All presidential candidates and their running mates meet the requirements to run for office, and none hold dual citizenship, the CEC said Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator and vice presidential candidate Cynthia Wu (吳欣盈) is working with the Central Election Commission (CEC) to resolve issues with her financial disclosure statement, a spokesman for the candidate said yesterday, after the commission published the statements of all three presidential candidates and their running mates, while confirming their eligibility to run in the Jan. 13 election. Wu’s office spokesman, Chen Yu-cheng (陳宥丞), said the candidate encountered unforeseen difficulties disclosing her husband’s finances due to being suddenly thrust into the campaign. She is also the first vice presidential nominee to have a foreign spouse, complicating the reporting of
GOOD NEWS: Although open civic spaces are shrinking in Asia-Pacific countries and territories, Taiwan’s openness is a positive sign, an expert said Taiwan remains the only country in Asia with an “open” civic space for the fifth consecutive year, the Civicus Monitor said in a report released yesterday. The People Power Under Attack 2023 report named Taiwan as one of only 37 open countries or territories out of 198 globally, and the only one in Asia. Compiled by Civicus — a global alliance of civil society organizations dedicated to bolstering civil action — the ranking compiled annually since 2017 measures the state of freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression around the world. Researchers assign each country or territory one of five rankings describing the
NOT JUST CHIPS: Although semiconductor processes are on the list, it also includes military technology and post-quantum cryptography to combat emerging cyberthreats The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) yesterday released a list of 22 technologies it considers crucial to the nation’s security and competitiveness, including the 14-nanometer semiconductor process and advanced chip packaging. For the first time, the council made a list of core technologies with an aim of preventing secret information about those technologies being leaked to foreign countries, which could put the nation’s security and the competitiveness of local industries at risk. For years, local semiconductor companies have faced challenges from talent poaching and theft of corporate secrets by Chinese competitors, who are seeking to rapidly advance their technology capabilities through
Japanese are more likely to view China as a major threat than Taiwanese, although both sides agree that Beijing’s power and influence are the most concerning geopolitical hazard, a Pew Research Center poll showed on Tuesday. From June 2 to Sept. 17, Pew researchers polled respondents in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong on perceived threats posed by China, the US, Russia and North Korea. China’s power and influence was considered the greatest threat above North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, or US or Russian influence, the report said. Japanese respondents showed the most concern over China, with 76 percent calling it a