The nation continued to be affected by the passage of Typhoon Haitang yesterday, with the southern part of the island hit particularly hard by tremendous rains and with the death toll from the storm rising to 12, with two people missing.
At 2:30am yesterday, the Central Weather Bureau lifted its typhoon warnings, but said that the public will have to wait until Friday to enjoy good weather.
Forecasters said that torrential rains would continue today in Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties, and that residents in mountainous must remain alert to the danger of mudflows, landslides and floods, which yesterday left remote mountainous areas cut off.
PHOTO: TU YI-CHING, TAIPEI TIMES
Residents in southern Taiwan, meanwhile, suffered from devastating floods, which damaged several bridges on major rivers. In Pingtung County, the floods washed away the Fengkang Bridge (
More than 3,000 tourists, including those visiting the famous Kenting National Park, yesterday were stranded at a local airport, as regular services remained halted.
According to the Directorate General of Highways, the bridge will likely be fixed on Friday.
Many townships along the southern coast were inundated by seawater and in Tainan County, 23 bridges were ruined by swift currents.
A 71-year-old woman in Chiku (
In Matou (
The township, which is located on a plain, rarely suffers from floods.
President Chen Shui-bain (
"I will ask for immediate repair of damaged bridges. In addition, affected farmers have to be compensated as soon as possible," Chen said.
According to the Council of Agriculture (COA), the number of watercourses in "critical danger" of flooding has been increased from 553 on Tuesday to 636 yesterday.
The council also estimates that financial losses in the agricultural section will be at least NT$2.97 billion (US$93 million) because fields and crops have been washed away, and facilities ruined by the floods.
Meanwhile, in the north of the country, about 1,000 families in Taoyuan County continued to be affected by water restrictions, as a result of the high turbidity of river water following the heavy rains.
Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Mei-yueh (
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