Wet Weather Causes Floods, Landslides, Traffic Accidents
Heavy rains caused flooding in Taiwan’s south along with landslides, while wet roads contributed to a spate of accidents across the island Monday, June 13.
The Council of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service issued a red alert for 85 landslide-prone areas and a yellow alert for 252 others. Evacuation of residents in affected areas in Kaohsiung began last night and as of this morning up to 1900 residents have been relocated to safer areas.
In Taichung city, the municipal government prepared 26 000 sandbags for distribution to residents, and urged people living in flood-prone areas to be on the alert after more than 311 millimeters fell in less than 24 hours.
In Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District classes were suspended after more than 350 millimeters of rain fell in less than 24 hours. The district is under a yellow alert for mudslides.
Also in Kaohsiung County, a woman was washed away by floodwaters and remains missing after attempting to cross a stream. The elderly woman and her daughter-in-law were carrying a ladder across the stream on their way to harvest bananas when the older woman lost her footing, and was carried from the smaller stream into a flooded river.
The Central Weather Bureau issued thunderstorm alerts for Taitung and Pingtung Counties this morning warning of heavy rain and lightning with the possibility of flash flooding.
Residents in Tainan County reported ‘typhoon level’ thunderstorms as heavy rain and winds lashed the district this morning.
The weather bureau also warned northern residents that the moist south-westerly air-stream will bring heavy rains their way starting from this evening.
Six students from Lanyang Institute of Technology in Ilan County were injured when the vehicle they were traveling in lost control on the wet road and went over the side of a bridge, falling the equivalent of 3 stories into the stream-bed below. None of the injuries were life-threatening.
By 8pm this evening, Highway 7 was closed due to landslides. It is expected to remain closed until at least 8am tomorrow.
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