Four people died and two were injured in a vehicle accident in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興) yesterday, as Typhoon Khanun brought heavy rain and strong winds to northern Taiwan.
The Taoyuan Fire Department said the accident occurred at about noon when a Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) construction vehicle fell down a 50m slope while rounding a curve near Sbunaw Bridge (雪霧鬧橋).
Four passengers showed no vital signs when rescuers arrived at the site, while one man and one woman sustained injuries.
Photo: Lu Hsiu-hsien, Taipei Times
Further investigation is necessary to determine possible causes of the accident, the police said.
The state-run power firm said that the vehicle was carrying contract workers who were recruited to work on electricity towers along Provincial Highway No. 7.
Taipower had told the contractor that there would be no work because of the typhoon, Taipower spokesman Tsai Chih-meng (蔡志孟) said, adding that the contractor had confirmed that no one was at work.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
“We have dispatched personnel to Taoyuan to get a better understanding of the situation,” Tsai added.
While Taipei, New Taipei City and Keelung declared yesterday a typhoon day, the Taoyuan City Government said that work and school would continue as usual.
It had been raining continually in Fusing since Wednesday night as the typhoon approached, possibly rendering the roads slippery.
Photo: CNA
As of 2:30pm yesterday, the Central Emergency Operation Center had recorded 250 cases of damage caused by the storm, 110 of which were fallen trees on roadsides and 46 involved infrastructure damage.
As of 3pm yesterday, 1,741 households had no power, including 1,730 in seven districts in New Taipei City and 11 in Yilan County’s Sansing Township (三星).
The typhoon also disrupted air travel, shipping and railway services across the nation. Eighty domestic and 46 international flights, as well as 44 ferry services, were canceled, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said.
As of 6pm, Khanun was centered 330km northeast of Taipei and was moving northeast at 8kph, Central Weather Bureau forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said.
The typhoon had weakened slightly and appeared to be spinning in place, with its radius briefly reaching the nation’s northeast coast, Hsu said.
Today, residents of mountainous areas in Kaohsiung and Taichung, as well as Miaoli, Nantou, Chiayi and Pingtung counties, should beware of damage caused by extremely heavy rainfall brought by a southwest wind.
The bureau forecast that the typhoon would be closest to Taiwan from last night to early this morning before moving north today, Hsu said, adding that it might lift the land alert this afternoon.
Winds on Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) could reach Level 11 or 12 on the Beaufort scale, while those on north and northeast coasts could reach Level 10 or 11, he said.
As of press time last night, the Kaohsiung City Government announced that school and work would be canceled today in Taoyuan (桃源), Maolin (茂林), Namasia (那瑪夏), Jiasian (甲仙) and Liouguei (六龜) districts, while the Taitung County Government canceled work and school on Orchid Island and Green Island.
Work and school are to resume today in Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Yilan County.
The Central Election Commission has amended election and recall regulations to require elected office candidates to provide proof that they have no Chinese citizenship, a Cabinet report said. The commission on Oct. 29 last year revised the Measures for the Permission of Family-based Residence, Long-term Residence and Settlement of People from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民在台灣地區依親居留長期居留或定居許可辦法), the Executive Yuan said in a report it submitted to the legislature for review. The revision requires Chinese citizens applying for permanent residency to submit notarial documents showing that they have lost their Chinese household record and have renounced — or have never
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 12:37pm today, with clear shaking felt across much of northern Taiwan. There were no immediate reports of damage. The epicenter of the quake was 16.9km east-southeast of Yilan County Hall offshore at a depth of 66.8km, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. The maximum intensity registered at a 4 in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳) on Taiwan’s seven-tier scale. Other parts of Yilan, as well as certain areas of Hualien County, Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu County, Taichung and Miaoli County, recorded intensities of 3. Residents of Yilan County and Taipei received
Taiwan has secured another breakthrough in fruit exports, with jujubes, dragon fruit and lychees approved for shipment to the EU, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency on Thursday received formal notification of the approval from the EU, the ministry said, adding that the decision was expected to expand Taiwanese fruit producers’ access to high-end European markets. Taiwan exported 126 tonnes of lychees last year, valued at US$1.48 million, with Japan accounting for 102 tonnes. Other export destinations included New Zealand, Hong Kong, the US and Australia, ministry data showed. Jujube exports totaled 103 tonnes, valued at
BIG SPENDERS: Foreign investors bought the most Taiwan equities since 2005, signaling confidence that an AI boom would continue to benefit chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) market capitalization swelled to US$2 trillion for the first time following a 4.25 percent rally in its American depositary receipts (ADR) overnight, putting the world’s biggest contract chipmaker sixth on the list of the world’s biggest companies by market capitalization, just behind Amazon.com Inc. The site CompaniesMarketcap.com ranked TSMC ahead of Saudi Aramco and Meta Platforms Inc. The Taiwanese company’s ADRs on Tuesday surged to US$385.75 on the New York Stock Exchange, as strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications led to chip supply constraints and boost revenue growth to record-breaking levels. Each TSMC ADR represents
RSS