Post Typhoon Clean-up: Rescues and Airdrops Continue

Wulai Township: A clearer picture of Typhoon Soudelor’s destructive power emerged Monday, as weather cleared, floodwaters receded, and rescue crews reached isolated communities around Wulai, south of Taipei City. The main tourist thoroughfare, Wulai’s ‘Old Street’ is covered by mud, rocks, and other debris. The bridge linking the old street to the main part of the village and its hot-springs resorts, has lost its safety rails. The narrow gauge coal train, constructed during the Japanese colonial period, and now used

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Chinese Taipei vs. Taiwan

This is Chinese Taipei: Not far outside the rarefied atmosphere of Taipei City stands the community of Wulai, and villages deeper in the mountains who are struggling to survive, with no electricity, clean drinking water, land or mobile communications. The damage caused by Typhoon Soudelor is only now beginning to be assessed, all over Taiwan. While the media has focused its attention on the metropolitan centers, the real victims of Typhoons in Taiwan are usually the people in the mountains.

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Typhoon Soudelor Grinding Over Taiwan: The Damage So Far

The whole island of Taiwan is now under the influence of this year’s strongest tropical storm Typhoon Soudelor. Huge waves began pounding the east coast this morning, and tourists packed trains and buses to leave the popular tourist areas. Airports were crowded with travelers forming long lines to find vacant seats on flights before take-offs and landings are halted. The following incidents happened during the afternoon of August 7, long before the full brunt of the Typhoon was felt. In

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Man Survives 8 Story Fall

A man miraculously survived after jumping off a freeway bridge the equivalent of an 8 story building. The man landed on muddy ground and was conscious when rescuers arrived. When reporters and police asked him why he jumped off the bridge, the man kept mumbling “I saw the buddha….. I harmed the buddha”. The man suffered bone fractures, scratches and bruising.     Sources: SETN

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77 Year Old Fruit Vendor Nabs Thief

Taipei: A 77 year old woman nabbed a 35 year old woman who stole small change from her fruit stand. The thief picked up a bunch of bananas and used it to cover her other hand as she pilfered coins from the fruit vendor’s change tray. The elderly fruit seller observed the incident and grabbed the thief by the arm, holding her until others came to help restrain the offender. The incident was caught on security cam.

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Muddle-Headed Motorist Forgets to Use Handbrake: Driverless Car Ploughs into Traffic

Taipei (Hsintien District): A driver-less car rolled down a steep slope across a busy street, smashing into three scooter riders and a car. The driver parked the car and got out without applying the handbrake. A few seconds later he heard the sound of the crash, and turned his head to see his car amid a scene of chaos and destruction. Nobody was seriously injured in the accident.     Sources: CTi, TTV

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Man Thrown from Truck: Stands up and Walks Away.

Tainan: A man miraculously survived a high speed crash on a freeway today. The truck involved  tipped over, losing it’s load along with the passenger, before righting itself and landing back on its wheels. A video of the incident shows the truck’s load of trees and dirt strewn over the road when suddenly a man stands up from the debris, and walks to the side of the road to recover. The small truck was behind a tanker-trailer, when he decided

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Car Falls into a 9 Meter Deep Shaft: Driver Rescued.

Hsinchu: What would have been a normal everyday kind of car accident in Taiwan made the headlines today when a driver trying to avoid another driver reversing into oncoming traffic, not only failed to avoid the reversing vehicle, but careered into a 9 meter deep shaft in the middle of the road. The car landed upside down in water, but rescuers managed to save the man. The man, who suffers disabilities caused by childhood polio, was taken by surprise when

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Sleeping at the Wheel? Driver Drives Head-on into Traffic Barrier

Yunlin County: Fortunately nobody was seriously injured or killed in this traffic accident in Yunlin this morning. The car veers left from the outside lane across the inside lane, across an intersection and straight into a traffic barrier. There is no attempt to brake the vehicle or avoid the obstacle. The vehicle spins 360 degrees and flips onto its roof. Fortunately, the 51 year-old female driver received only minor injuries and was helped out of the car by an emergency

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Truck Explodes in Taichung

Updated 22:00 July 29 A moving truck, carrying live fish was destroyed when an 800 liter liquid oxygen cylinder, associated with the fish tank exploded. The accident happened at 6.30 AM this morning on a busy road in Taichung. The driver of the truck suffered 2nd degree burns to 20 percent of his body. Other vehicles and nearby buildings suffered broken windows and minor damage. The incident was caught on traffic cameras.   Sources: CTi, ETtoday.

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