Rescuers today recovered a man's body in Hualien County's Guangfu Township (光復), bringing the confirmed death toll from Super Typhoon Ragasa to 18, the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC) said.
Seven people remain missing, and 107 people have been injured nationwide.
Soldiers found the body while searching a river bank near Kalotong (加里洞), about 7km downstream from Fozu Street in Guangfu, one of the areas hardest hit by massive flooding on Tuesday last week caused when the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) barrier lake collapsed.
Photo: CNA
The body was badly decomposed and could not be immediately identified, authorities said.
The missing include a gravel pit owner, a retired professor and several residents. Search teams today concentrated on Fozu Street and nearby gravel pits, where several people remain unaccounted for, authorities said.
As of 9:20am, 788 disaster incidents had been reported across Taiwan — 736 of them in Hualien, the CEOC said.
There are six shelters in Guangfu accommodating 652 displaced residents, while nearly 2,500 soldiers with heavy equipment are clearing roads, delivering relief supplies and conducting search operations, authorities said.
The Mataian River barrier lake remains unstable. Its water level has dropped 118.5m since Tuesday, leaving just 6.1 million tonnes of water, only 6.7 percent of its original capacity.
The red alert for the barrier lake would remain in place due to unstable slopes in the area and continued inflows, officials said.
Meanwhile, flood defenses in Guangfu are being reinforced with temporary levees after multiple dikes were damaged, officials said.
Rebuilding the Mataian Creek Bridge would proceed in stages, starting with the construction of an emergency culvert road that is expected to be completed by Oct. 15, the CEOC, said, adding that a steel bridge would be built by January next year, with a permanent structure completed late next year.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS