One person was missing and 131 were injured after the nation was hit by two tropical storms within 24 hours over the weekend, the Central Emergency Operations Center said yesterday.
Fifty-four of the injured are from Taipei, the center said, adding that most of the injuries were caused by people being swept away by strong winds, falling from motorbikes or getting hit by debris.
Two of the injured are in serious condition and remain in hospital, it said.
Photo: Chien Hui-ju, Taipei Times
The person who went missing was last seen near the Formosa Freeway (Freeway No. 3) in Pingtung County’s Nanchou Township (南州), the center said, adding that the Pingtung police and fire departments are looking for the person.
Heavy rainfall caused 320 floods nationwide, with Tainan and Pingtung sustaining the heaviest damage, the center added.
Typhoon Nesat and Tropical Storm Haitang prompted the evacuation of 13,167 people, data from the center show.
As of 6pm yesterday, 1,331 people remained in shelters, about 2,800 households were without electricity and 237 mobile phone base stations were damaged, the data showed.
Water, natural gas and landline telephone services have been restored to all households affected by the storms.
The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) and Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp returned to normal operations yesterday.
The TRA said that the Alishan Forest Railway’s main line would be closed today, as landslides have damaged a tunnel and railroad tracks.
The three branch lines of the forest railway are to resume operations today after the TRA conducted test runs.
The Central Weather Bureau lifted land and sea alerts for Haitang at 8:30am yesterday, but the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said 92 domestic flights and five international flights were canceled, and 41 domestic flights and four international flights were delayed.
The Marine Port Bureau reported that 125 shipping services were canceled yesterday, adding that 44 shipping services are expected to be canceled today, mostly to the outlying islands of Matsu and Penghu.
Agricultural losses caused by the two storms have topped NT$238 million (US$7.9 million) and damage to educational facilities in all levels of schools reached NT$35.07 million.
The Tourism Bureau yesterday laid out the principles on compensating the tourists affected by a strike at EVA Air Corp on Sunday.
Tourists whose flights were canceled due to the strike would be refunded their tour fees after deducting non-refundable fares, such as visa application fees or other booking charges.
Travel agencies must not ask for additional charges from tourists whose trips were disrupted by the strike and must help the tourists return to their home nations, the bureau said.
The CAA also asked employees and EVA Airways management to restore dialogue following the strike.
“We hope that EVA Air can learn from [the strike] and negotiate with the flight attendants about reasonable work schedules on typhoon days, so that passengers and flight attendants are protected,” the CAA said.
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Deliveries of delayed F-16V jets are expected to begin in September, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said today, after senior defense officials visited the US last week. The US in 2019 approved a US$8 billion sale of Lockheed Martin F-16 jets to Taiwan, a deal that would take the nation’s F-16 fleet to more than 200 jets, but the project has been hit by issues including software problems. Koo appeared today before a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which is discussing different versions of the special defense budget this week. The committee is questioning officials today,
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