Four people died and two were injured in a vehicle accident in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興) yesterday, as Typhoon Khanun brought heavy rain and strong winds to northern Taiwan.
The Taoyuan Fire Department said the accident occurred at about noon when a Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) construction vehicle fell down a 50m slope while rounding a curve near Sbunaw Bridge (雪霧鬧橋).
Four passengers showed no vital signs when rescuers arrived at the site, while one man and one woman sustained injuries.
Photo: Lu Hsiu-hsien, Taipei Times
Further investigation is necessary to determine possible causes of the accident, the police said.
The state-run power firm said that the vehicle was carrying contract workers who were recruited to work on electricity towers along Provincial Highway No. 7.
Taipower had told the contractor that there would be no work because of the typhoon, Taipower spokesman Tsai Chih-meng (蔡志孟) said, adding that the contractor had confirmed that no one was at work.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
“We have dispatched personnel to Taoyuan to get a better understanding of the situation,” Tsai added.
While Taipei, New Taipei City and Keelung declared yesterday a typhoon day, the Taoyuan City Government said that work and school would continue as usual.
It had been raining continually in Fusing since Wednesday night as the typhoon approached, possibly rendering the roads slippery.
Photo: CNA
As of 2:30pm yesterday, the Central Emergency Operation Center had recorded 250 cases of damage caused by the storm, 110 of which were fallen trees on roadsides and 46 involved infrastructure damage.
As of 3pm yesterday, 1,741 households had no power, including 1,730 in seven districts in New Taipei City and 11 in Yilan County’s Sansing Township (三星).
The typhoon also disrupted air travel, shipping and railway services across the nation. Eighty domestic and 46 international flights, as well as 44 ferry services, were canceled, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said.
As of 6pm, Khanun was centered 330km northeast of Taipei and was moving northeast at 8kph, Central Weather Bureau forecaster Hsu Chung-yi (徐仲毅) said.
The typhoon had weakened slightly and appeared to be spinning in place, with its radius briefly reaching the nation’s northeast coast, Hsu said.
Today, residents of mountainous areas in Kaohsiung and Taichung, as well as Miaoli, Nantou, Chiayi and Pingtung counties, should beware of damage caused by extremely heavy rainfall brought by a southwest wind.
The bureau forecast that the typhoon would be closest to Taiwan from last night to early this morning before moving north today, Hsu said, adding that it might lift the land alert this afternoon.
Winds on Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) could reach Level 11 or 12 on the Beaufort scale, while those on north and northeast coasts could reach Level 10 or 11, he said.
As of press time last night, the Kaohsiung City Government announced that school and work would be canceled today in Taoyuan (桃源), Maolin (茂林), Namasia (那瑪夏), Jiasian (甲仙) and Liouguei (六龜) districts, while the Taitung County Government canceled work and school on Orchid Island and Green Island.
Work and school are to resume today in Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Yilan County.
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
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
CHIP EXCEPTION: An official said that an exception for Taiwanese semiconductors would have a limited effect, as most are packaged in third nations before being sold The Executive Yuan yesterday decried US President Donald Trump’s 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods announced hours earlier as “unfair,” saying it would lodge a representation with Washington. The Cabinet in a statement described the pledged US tariffs, expected to take effect on Wednesday next week, as “deeply unreasonable” and “highly regrettable.” Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said that the government would “lodge a solemn representation” with the US Trade Representative and continue negotiating with Washington to “ensure the interests of our nation and industries.” Trump at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday announced a 10 percent baseline tariff on most goods
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats
RSS