At least 14 people have been confirmed dead after floodwaters from the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) barrier lake burst into Hualien County’s Guangfu Township (光復) on Tuesday, government officials said yesterday, after Super Typhoon Ragasa pounded Taiwan with torrential rain.
The lake in eastern Hualien — formed by a series of landslides that created a natural dam wall — burst, washing away a bridge and sweeping into Guangfu with a trail of thick sludge and mud.
“It was like a volcano erupting... The muddy floodwaters came roaring straight into the first floor of my house,” said Hsu Cheng-hsiung, 55, a neighborhood leader of Guangfu.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA
More than half of Guangfu’s 8,450 people sought safety on higher floors of their homes or on higher ground yesterday morning. The streets were caked in thick gray mud after the flood hit, with fallen trees blocking the way.
Wrecked cars and scooters lay by the roadside or piled on top of each other by the flood waters, and some metal gates and roofs of homes were destroyed, with furniture scattered along the streets.
Residents said the mud was too much to clear by themselves with more help for the cleanup expected today.
Photo: CNA
“I was very scared... About 500m in front of me, the stream suddenly swelled into a flood,” a 54-year-old relief volunteer surnamed Shih (施) said at a makeshift shelter. “I heard police broadcasting on the street: ‘The water is coming, run.’”
Residents were ordered to evacuate amid fears that the barrier lake would overflow again or burst, a day after the initial breach.
Local broadcasts at about 11:30am instructed residents to halt cleanup work and head toward Rueisuei Township (瑞穗) for safety.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA
Authorities said the confirmation of a new overflow was pending, but that precautionary measures were necessary due to heavy rains.
As of 5pm yesterday, there were a total of 17 deaths and 32 injured across the country, the Central Emergency Operation Center said.
The death toll at 10:30pm was again fixed and dropped to 14, while the number of missing also fell from 152 to 46, as rescuers established contact with more than 100 people who were previously unreachable, and were going door-to-door to check on the remaining 46 residents, the National Fire Agency said.
“Seventeen people remain missing after the Mataian River barrier lake burst. We must ... seize the time for rescue,” Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) told a government briefing.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) visited the area yesterday, pledging to provide assistance to those affected.
He said the authorities should find out why “evacuation orders were not carried out in the affected area,” which led to the casualties, and ordered representatives of central government agencies to stay in Hualien to support relief efforts.
Across Taiwan, nearly 8,400 people were evacuated due to Super Typhoon Ragasa.
In areas around the barrier lake, 3,285 people were evacuated and about 1,200 were staying in shelters, the fire agency said.
The Central Weather Administration said rainfall in Guangfu had eased, but warned that eastern and southeastern Taiwan could still see heavy showers or localized downpours.
Saturated mountain soil remained prone to landslides, rockfalls and debris flows, it said.
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
MATAIAN RIVER: Rescue operations were ongoing, with officials urging residents to move to higher floors where possible as teams focus first on those at ground level 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. 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
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,
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