Falling trees killed two people in two separate cases, reports said yesterday.
In Changhua County, a postman on a motorcycle surnamed Sun (孫), 46, was killed during yesterday’s rainstorm when a tree fell and struck him while he was delivering mail on a rural road in Fenyuan District (芬園).
State-owned Chunghwa Post Co in a statement said that all staff members were saddened by the news, and would ensure Sun’s family receive the maximum financial compensation and provide them with assistance for making funeral arrangements.
Photo courtesy of a reader
If the tree is the responsibility of the local government, then it would ask for state compensation for Sun’s family, and help them file an application, Chunghwa Post Co chairman Wu Hong-mo (吳宏謀) said.
In Kaohsiung, a 66-year-old, surnamed Lee (李), was walking by himself at Chengcing Lake (澄清湖) in the Niaosong District (鳥松) when a tree fell on him. The cause is unknown. He was taken to hospital with lacerations to his head and feet, but was unable to be resuscitated, the Kaohsiung Police Department’s Renwu (仁武) Precinct said.
Taiwan Water Corp’s local office said the park would be closed until Friday next week while it conducts safety checks and prunes trees that might pose a danger, especially as heavy rains are expected to continue.
The soil has softened due to recent earthquakes and torrential rain, which likely caused the unfortunate incident, the office said.
Eleven regions were under heavy rain advisories yesterday afternoon, as a weather front enveloped the entirety of Taiwan proper. The Central Weather Administration at 12:25pm issued heavy rain advisories for Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Chiayi, Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Hsinchu, Miaoli, Nantou, Chiayi, Pingtung and Penghu counties. Heavy rain is defined as more than 80mm of accumulated rainfall within 24 hours or 40mm within an hour.
Meanwhile, thunderstorms accompanying the weather front have replenished Zengwen Reservoir (曾文水庫), the largest reservoir in southern Taiwan, and the Wushantou Reservoir (烏山頭水庫) with about 1.6 million metric tons of water since 6pm on Thursday.
The Southern Region Water Resources Branch said the two reservoirs held a total of 233.82 million tonnes of water as of 9am yesterday, collectively reaching 40.09 percent capacity.
About 160 tonnes of rainfall poured into the Nanhua Reservoir (南化水庫), which provides water for domestic and industrial use in Tainan. The influx brought the reservoir’s capacity to 26.25 percent, or 23.49 million tonnes, as of 9am yesterday.
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