At least 14 people have been confirmed dead after floodwaters from a Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) barrier lake surged into Guangfu Township (光復), Hualien County, officials said early today.
Hualien County emergency services searched through the night for missing or injured residents after the lake overran its banks at 2:50pm and 4:30pm yesterday.
Photo courtesy of a reader
The flooding, driven by rains from Typhoon Ragasa, sent torrents through Guangfu's neighborhoods, rising nearly a story high before beginning to recede by yesterday evening.
Photo courtesy of a reader
Lee Lung-sheng (李龍聖), deputy chief of the Hualien County Fire Department, said that search-and-rescue teams had confirmed 14 deaths in Guangfu as of this morning.
Many were elderly people found on the first floors of their homes on Dunhou Road and Fozu Street, who were apparently unable to evacuate in time, he said.
Photo: CNA
Although the floodwaters have receded from the village, the streets are still covered in a layer of mud and debris.
Rescuers are continuing to search for people house by house, and the number of people missing remains unclear, Lee said.
Floodwaters in Guangfu, about 40km south of Hualien City, also swamped the village's train station and rail lines yesterday, and destroyed the Mataian River Bridge (馬太鞍溪橋) on Provincial Highway 9.
In addition to the 14 deaths, 18 people in Hualien were reported injured as of 6am today, and more than 3,000 people had been evacuated in Guangfu, Fenglin (鳳林) and Wanrong (萬榮) townships, authorities said.
A barrier lake is formed when debris, landslides or natural blockages create a temporary dam along a river.
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