Heavy rains caused by a combination of northeasterly winds and Tropical Storm Khanun’s effects triggered several mudslides, and disrupted land and air traffic nationwide.
Heavy rainfall on Friday and yesterday caused flooding and triggered several small mudslides in Taitung County’s Jhihben area (知本), causing damage to Hoya Hot Springs Resort & Spa (富野溫泉休閒會館), which had to suspend operations.
Hotel manager Chang Tien-jung (張天榮) said the mudslide smashed through the glass panes behind a dining area.
Photo: CNA
There were no guests in the dining area when the mudslide occurred, Chang said, adding that no hotel staff were trapped inside.
The New Taipei City Government was notified at about 5am yesterday that the ground beneath a residential community in a mountainous area in Sijhih District (汐止) was at risk of collapse due to erosion.
The Sijhih District Office said it has evacuated 12 people from the area, adding that the community’s management has sent a staffer to the area to monitor the site in case of a collapse.
Photo: CNA
The Directorate-General of Highways said there have been several mudslides and rockfalls between the Dayuling (大禹嶺) and Taroko National Park section along the Central Cross-Island Highway (Provincial Highway No. 8), which was closed to traffic until 8am today.
Landslides damaged sections of the road between Suao (蘇澳) and Chongde (崇德) on the Suhua Highway (Highway No. 9), which was closed until 3pm yesterday.
Between midnight and 10am yesterday, 15 domestic flights and one international flight were canceled, while one international flight was delayed due to heavy rain, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said.
Photo provided by a member of the public
The Water Resources Agency has issued flood alerts for parts of Taitung.
The Central Weather Bureau warned of extremely torrential rain in Taitung and the mountainous areas of Pingtung County, where accumulated rainfall of 50cm or more was expected within the next 24 hours.
Other affected regions include northeastern Taiwan, the greater Taipei area, central Taiwan and mountainous areas in southern Taiwan, forecasters said.
Photo: Copied by Chiang Chih-hsiung, Taipei Times
State-run Taiwan Power Co (台電) said that 14,530 households experienced power outages starting on Friday, but almost all of them had their power restored by noon yesterday.
Affected residents in Yilan and Hualien counties, as well as Taoyuan, have yet to have their power restored, it said, adding that it was working to restore power as soon as possible.
Although Hsinchu City experienced power outages, the Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park was not affected, the company said.
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