Regional power outages yesterday morning snarled traffic as emergency workers responded to calls for rescue, including those trapped in elevators.
TV footage showed police officers directing vehicles as traffic lights failed and some shops were forced to stay closed due to the lack of power.
The owner of a bakery in Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山) said that he had to discard many loaves of bread and cakes, as the blackout occurred as he was baking, disrupting the process.
Photo courtesy of the Taoyuan Fire Department via CNA
In Keelung, some seafood sellers said they had rushed to place crabs, shrimp and other seafood in cages and then in the waters nearby to prevent them from dying, while others said they used generators to circulate water, which kept their sea catch alive.
The Taipei Department of Economic Development said that at 1pm yesterday, 429,436 households were affected by the blackout, while 239 traffic signals were out and 49 people needed to be freed from elevators.
The Taoyuan Fire Department said that 14 people were reported trapped in elevators.
In Kaohsiung, 1.86 million households were affected by the blackout, 79 people were trapped in elevators, and the city’s MRT and light rail systems were suspended, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said.
The Tainan Fire Department reported 24 people trapped in elevators, with firefighters having to climb 23 floors to free one person.
In New Taipei City, 891,985 households were affected by the power outage as of 9:16am yesterday, the city’s Economic Development Department said.
The power went out just as the string orchestra of Cheng-Gong Junior High School in Hsinchu County played the first note of their performance in the regional finals of a national student music competition.
The 31 students were unfazed and finished their performance on a pitch-black stage, earning applause from the judges.
Additional reporting by Lu Hsiu-hsien, Yang Hsin-hui, Liao Hsueh-ju and AFP
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
RSS