Continuous torrential rains brought by tropical storm Mindulle yesterday caused more devastating damage to the center and south of the country, raising the death toll to 18 with 10 others missing, officials said.
The latest victims were a mother and a son buried alive by landslides at Puli, Nantou County, said the National Fire Agency.
Rescuers found a third victim, who was previously listed as missing, on Penghu.
PHOTO: TUNG CHEN-KUO, TAIPEI TIMES
More damage is expected as weather forecasters said yesterday that the heavy rains might not an end until Wednesday.
According to the Council of Agriculture, initial agricultural losses are estimated at NT$1.85 billion (US$55 million), including loss of crop land worth NT$1.46 billion, NT$65.42 million in animal deaths, NT$224.15 million in fishery losses and NT$91.97 million for forestry losses.
Officials said that about 33,595 hectares of crop fields had been damaged, 1.1 million fowl have died, more than 4,500 hectares of fish farms have been destroyed and nearly 900 hectares of forest has been ruined.
PHOTO: TUNG CHEN-KUO, TAIPEI TIMES
In addition, the council might need to spend about NT$511.27 million reconstructing damaged facilities needed by fishing ports and irrigation systems.
Council officials said Yunlin County has suffered the highest agricultural losses so far -- NT$481.67 billion -- followed by Nantou County with NT$327.32 million and NT$300 million for Hualien County.
Three hydroelectric power plants along the swollen Tachia River have flooded, causing equipment damage estimated at NT$10 billion, the state-run Taiwan Power Co said.
"As the communication with the staff at the power plants was cut off, the extent of the damage was not clear. The cost was calculated for the worst scenario," a Taipower spokes-woman said.
The 0702 Flood Disaster Relief Center led by Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Mei-yueh (
As of yesterday, 81 townships in 12 jurisdictions had been deemed as vulnerable to landslides and mudflows.
"We have suggested that local governments evacuate residents in these danger areas as soon as possible," Ho said.
As of yesterday, the Soil and Water Conservation Bureau had evacuated more than 1,000 residents living in dangerous areas.
After inspecting Nantou County yesterday afternoon, Minister of the Interior Su Jia-chyuan (
In Chiayi County, 62 percent of families in coastal Tungshih township, or roughly 5,400 households, have been inundated by floodwaters since Mindulle struck.
As rains weakened yesterday the Water Resources Agency's mobile pumps helped lower water levels in the township.
However, officials warned that rising waters in Pachang Creek in Chiayi County and the Kaoping River dividing Pingtung and Kaohiung counties have created a dangerous situation and they urged people to avoid river embankments.
The Central Weather Bureau said rainfall amounted to 1,500mm over the past three days, including 694mm in Kaohsiung County and 433mm rain on Alishan yesterday.
Weather forecasters said residents in the center and south should remain alert for more heavy rains today and tomorrow and people in mountainous areas should be on the alert for landslides, mudflows and mountain torrents.
The storm has brought southern Taiwan's worst flooding in 25 years.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday urged the government to take more precautions to mitigate the possible effects of landslides and mudflows.
"Although the amount of rainfall brought by Mindulle is rare, we still need to make more efforts not only to preserve our soil and land but also ensure residents' safety," DPP legislative caucus whip Tsai Huang-lang (
Mindulle also battered southeastern China yesterday, where a mother and her son drowned after falling out of a boat on a lake in Huzhou city, about 140km southwest of Shanghai, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Also see story:
Charities add funds, workers to official typhoon aid efforts
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS