Parts of Taiwan reported landslides and flooding following heavy rain over the past two days, as a weather front continued to push southward yesterday, the Central Weather Bureau said.
Mountainous areas in Kaohsiung and in Chiayi and Pingtung counties were expected to accumulate up to 200mm of rainfall yesterday, a bureau forecast showed.
Schools in Miaoli County’s Taian Township (泰安) were closed from noon yesterday due to landslides, which also brought closures to roads and highways in the county.
Photo: CNA
As of 1:10pm yesterday the township had reported the nation’s highest amount of rainfall, at 323mm.
A Taian Township Office worker sustained minor bruising after his vehicle was hit by falling rocks as he drove on a highway to work at about 6am, firefighters said.
The driver did not need assistance getting out of the wrecked vehicle, the local fire department said.
Photo: CNA
Miaoli County was also the site of another weather-induced traffic accident, involving a 46-year-old scooter rider who sustained moderate injuries to his arm and leg after crashing into a fallen tree branch.
Meanwhile, flooding in Yunlin County’s Mailiao (麥寮) and Dongshih (東勢) townships left more than 3,000 people without power as of 10am yesterday.
Taiwan Power Co said it was investigating the cause of the outage.
Photo courtesy of Legislator Lin Ching-yi’s office
Flooding was also reported in Hsinchu, Taichung and Changhua counties, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.
The occupants of a residential complex in Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City (竹北) were evacuated to safety following a landslide that occurred next door.
In southern Taiwan, where conditions have been dry for the past few months, Kaohsiung’s Cijin District (旗津) received much-needed 78.5mm of rain as of 8am yesterday, with Chiayi County and Tainan recording rainfall of only 16mm and 5mm respectively, the bureau said.
Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) had the city’s highest accumulated rainfall at 38mm, while Taichung’s Waipu District (外埔) reported 136mm.
Shihmen Reservoir (石門水庫) in Taoyuan is estimated to reach more than 40 percent capacity once the wave of rainfall ends, ensuring a stable water supply in the area until the end of June, the Water Resources Agency said yesterday.
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