Rescuers continued search operations yesterday after Typhoon Sinlaku pounded Taiwan over the weekend, leaving at least 11 people dead and 11 missing, the National Disaster Prevention and Protection Commission said yesterday.
At least 20 people were injured when Sinlaku lashed the nation, disrupting land and air traffic and causing power blackouts.
Hundreds of rescuers have been mobilized to combat floods and conduct rescue missions, while nearly 2,000 people were evacuated to safety, the commission said.
PHOTO: LIN CHIA-HSIU, TAIPEI TIMES
The latest casualty came after a tunnel in central Taiwan partially caved in, killing seven people, the National Fire Agency said.
At 5:30pm yesterday, seven people were found buried alive after the Fengchiu Tunnel (豐丘隧道) in Nantou County collapsed on Monday. Officials said they included Tung Cheng-bin (董振彬), Jin Tien-fu (金添福) and Wang Shu-mei (王淑美).
Several backhoes were used to remove earth and rocks that buried the mountainside tunnel and a volunteer who was directing traffic on Monday afternoon.
Rescue operations also continued at the Lushan Hot Springs Resort (廬山溫泉區) in Nantou County, where several hotels shifted on their foundations during the typhoon, with one seven-story structure falling on its side across a riverbed.
One woman was buried alive at the Lushan resort while several others were washed away by flooded rivers and listed as missing.
Two people were found buried in a mudslide in Miaoli County.
They were identified as Liao Ching-kang (廖慶康) and Lin Shi-mei (林細妹).
Also in Miaoli County, a 41-year-old man named Chen Rong-tang (陳榮堂) died when he fell into a ditch while riding a motorcycle.
In Taichung County, divers and soldiers were combing the Tachia River after part of the Houfeng Bridge (后豐橋) collapsed during the typhoon on Sunday night, causing three cars with six people to plunge into the water.
Rescuers announced they had recovered one car and its occupant yesterday. The body of Lei Yu-chi (雷毓琦) was found on Monday, they said. As of press time, rescuers were still searching for the other five people reported missing in the accident.
Eight others in Changhua, Nantou, and Taichung remained missing at press time yesterday.
The agricultural losses exceeded NT$670 million (US$20.9 million), with Ilan and Nantou counties the hardest-hit.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) yesterday lashed out at the Cabinet, saying that the government failed to draw up disaster relief plans in time.
“People are suffering. Therefore, the government should show some gumption and take immediate measures to solve the crisis,” he said.
“We [the KMT caucus] will demand the Cabinet do its best [in the disaster relief]. Since we are in office now, we should perform well,” KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) told reporters.
KMT Legislator Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆) said he found the government’s relief measures only “all right,” while urging the Cabinet to work harder to help people return to their normal life.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Sinlaku is moving back over open water and is forecast to strengthen as it approaches the southern islands of Japan.
Sinlaku was over the South China Sea northeast of Taipei with maximum sustained winds of 83kph at midday yesterday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said on its Web site.
Sinlaku’s winds were gusting to 120kph as the storm slowly headed east toward the main islands of the Okinawa chain in southwestern Japan.
It is forecast to become a typhoon again by tomorrow as it swings to the northeast, the Japanese weather agency said.
The storm left 135 roads in need of repair and cut power to 277,000 households in Taiwan. It brought as much as 1,600mm of rain to some areas, sparking landslides and causing rivers to flood their banks.
Chinese authorities evacuated about 500,000 people as the storm’s outer wind and rain bands lashed coastal areas of China, Xinhua news agency reported.
The storm dumped heavy rain on China’s coastal provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian and the city of Shanghai yesterday.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
PEACEFUL RESOLUTION: A statement issued following a meeting between Australia and Britain reiterated support for Taiwan and opposition to change in the Taiwan Strait Canada should support the peaceful resolution of Taiwan’s destiny according to the will of Taiwanese, Canadian lawmakers said in a resolution marking the second anniversary of that nation’s Indo-Pacific strategy on Monday. The Canadian House of Commons committee on Canada-Chinese relations made the comment as part of 34 recommendations for the new edition of the strategy, adding that Ottawa should back Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, first published in October 2022, emphasized that the region’s security, trade, human rights, democracy and environmental protection would play a crucial role in shaping Canada’s future. The strategy called for Canada to deepen
QUICK LOOK: The amendments include stricter recall requirements and Constitutional Court procedures, as well as a big increase in local governments’ budgets Portions of controversial amendments to tighten requirements for recalling officials and Constitutional Court procedures were passed by opposition lawmakers yesterday following clashes between lawmakers in the morning, as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members tried to block Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators from entering the chamber. Parts of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) and Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed the third reading yesterday. The legislature was still voting on various amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) as of press time last night, after the session was extended to midnight. Amendments to Article 4
‘ONE BRIDGE’: The US president-elect met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 in Florida and the two discussed a potential Taiwan-China conflict’s implications for world peace US president-elect Donald Trump has described Taiwan as “a major issue for world peace” during a meeting with Akie Abe, the widow of late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun quoted sources as saying in a report yesterday. Trump met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where the two discussed the Russo-Ukrainian war and the situation in the Taiwan Strait. During the meeting, Trump spoke on the implications for world peace of a potential Taiwan-China conflict, which “indicated his administration’s stance of placing importance on dealing with the situation in
RSS