Floodwaters from the overflowing Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) barrier lake swept into Hualien County’s Guangfu Township (光復) yesterday afternoon, leaving hundreds of people trapped and three missing as of press time last night, the Hualien County Fire Bureau said.
The waters surged into downtown Guangfu after the riverbank burst at about 2:50pm, carrying mud and debris and submerging streets to rooftop level in some areas.
Residents were seen climbing onto vehicles and rooftops to await rescue as thick, silt-laden water inundated the town.
Photo: CNA
The surge destroyed the Mataian Bridge (馬太鞍溪橋) and flooded the Guangfu Railway Station.
Rescue operations were launched with support from fire departments in Taipei, New Taipei City and Taitung, as well as civilian groups that provided boats.
Officials urged residents to move to higher floors if possible, while search-and-rescue teams prioritized those trapped at ground level.
Photo courtesy of a member of the public
A Central Emergency Operations Center (CEOC) meeting yesterday morning had determined that the Mataian River barrier lake in Wanrong Township (萬榮) might overflow, prompting evacuations, creek clearance and close monitoring.
Barrier lakes form when debris, landslides or other blockages create temporary dams along rivers.
Authorities said last night that two critically ill people died after they were unable to receive timely medical care due to flooding.
Photo courtesy of a member of the public
Separately, the land warning for Typhoon Ragasa was lifted at 8:30am yesterday, while the sea warning was lifted at 8:30pm.
The CEOC reported a total of 221 disasters nationwide, resulting in two deaths, 30 missing and 28 injuries. In response to the collapse of the Matai Anxi Bridge, the Highway Bureau has developed alternative routes.
The injured were in Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Hualien County, Taitung and outlying Penghu County.
Of the 8,524 residents in the area, 167 have been housed in three shelters, 3,118 sought refuge with family and friends, while the other 5,239 relocated to higher ground, the center said.
Meanwhile, landslide and mudslide warnings have been issued in Yilan, Hualien, Taitung and Pingtung counties.
In Taitung, a suspected tornado tore off tin roofs and blew over road signs early yesterday morning, a local resident said.
Driftwood was seen scattered over Taitung City Seaside Park.
In Pingtung County’s Liouciou Township (琉球), off the southwestern coast, a resident posted a video in a local Facebook group showing driftwood piled up along the Houshi Fringing Reef section of the island’s highway, blocking traffic.
Liouciou Township Councilor Hung Wen-liang (洪文良) said that although wind and rain were not especially strong on Monday night, waves were high and swept driftwood onto the road.
The waves swept up a lot of driftwood previously caught in the reefs and were hard to clean off during the storms of Typhoon Podul, which hit Taiwan last month, he said.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
FIRST TRIAL: Ko’s lawyers sought reduced bail and other concessions, as did other defendants, but the bail judge denied their requests, citing the severity of the sentences Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was yesterday sentenced to 17 years in prison and had his civil rights suspended for six years over corruption, embezzlement and other charges. Taipei prosecutors in December last year asked the Taipei District Court for a combined 28-year, six-month sentence for the four cases against Ko, who founded the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The cases were linked to the Core Pacific City (京華城購物中心) redevelopment project and the mismanagement of political donations. Other defendants convicted on separate charges included Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇), who was handed a 15-year, six-month sentence; Core Pacific
RSS