Parts of northern Taiwan on flood alert as rainy season front arrives

Heavy rain began falling in the early hours of the morning in northern Taiwan today, causing floods and power outages in Hsinchu County and Taoyuan City. The Hsinchu County Government declared a level three emergency response after the Central Weather Bureau issued a heavy rain disaster warning at 4:30 am this morning. From 2:00 am, rainfall in 10 cities and townships in Hsinchu County exceeded warning levels. From 3:25 am the maximum hourly rainfall in Hsinchu City reached 106 mm

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10-vehicle freeway pile-up leaves 4 injured

Three people were injured after a a multi-vehicle crash involving 9 cars and a heavy truck on National Highway 3 in Hsinchu County this morning, Thursday, October 27. National Highway police said they received a report of a chain collision in the southbound lanes of the freeway at the 98.5 kilometer mark near the Baoshan Interchange at 8:15 am. According to the preliminary investigation, a 33-year-old driver, named Chuang, is suspected of failing to maintain a safe distance from the

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Hsinchu County shaken by 10 earthquakes so far today

While Taiwan is prone to frequent earthquakes, the relatively geologically stable Hsinchu County has experienced 10 small earthquakes today, the strongest with a magnitude of 3.7. All of the quakes occurred within a small radius around Emei Township. According to Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau an earthquake of magnitude 3.3 occurred in Emei Township at 10:44 am. The earthquake’s intensity was felt as a level 3 in Guanxi, and 2 in Hsinchu City, Zhunan, and parts Miaoli County. Another quake followed

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Taxi crash in Taichung City leaves 1 dead, 1 injured: suspected drunk driving

A taxi driver who died in a crash in Taichung City last night is suspected to have been drunk driving after post-mortem blood tests showed an alcohol level over the legal limit. Taichung City Fire Bureau received reports of a car accident on Dongda Road in Daya District at 11:43 pm. TCFB dispatched one fire truck, two ambulances and 9 personnel to the scene of the accident. Firefighters found the 30-year-old driver, named Wang, without vital signs and trapped in

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Tech factory fire takes 9 hours to extinguish

Firefighters in Hsinchu County worked through the night to extinguish a fire that destroyed a three-storey building at a factory complex in Hukou Township, finally extinguishing the blaze shortly after 6:00 am. Hsinchu County Fire Department received reports of a fire at the Excelsior Technology Inc complex in Hsinchu Industrial Park shortly after 9:00 pm, yesterday, January 15. The fire department dispatched 33 vehicles and 78 personnel to battle the blaze. Specialist chemical disaster units were dispatched due to the

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Soldiers commended for taking wheel of bus after driver suffers heart attack

Two new army recruits were commended by the army and police for saving the lives of fellow passengers after a bus driver had a heart attack and lost consciousness while traveling on National Highway 1, Sunday evening. The two 23-year-old soldiers responded immediately when the 56-year-old driver, named Lin, suddenly lost consciousness and slumped onto the steering wheel at around 6:00 pm. The bus was traveling southbound on a downhill, slightly curved section of freeway in Hsinchu County, and it

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Pitbull involved in fatal attack now up for adoption

A pit bull who bit a man in the thigh, piercing his femoral artery, and causing him to bleed to death, is being cared for in a Hsinchu County animal refuge until a suitable person can be found to adopt him. The Hsinchu County Fire Bureau responded to a report, Sunday, October 10, that a man had been seriously injured by a dog in Jianshi Township. Paramedics arrived to find that the man had already lost vital signs after bleeding

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Undertaker finds “corpse” alive, but man dies five days later in hospital

Paramedics found a man they thought was “obviously dead,” last Thursday, but an undertaker called to remove the body found the man still breathing, and he was rushed to the hospital where he died this morning, October 26. A friend of the 62-year-old resident of Hsinchu County called police to help him enter the man’s home, after the man, named Tong, did not show up for work, and could not be contacted, Thursday, October 21. At around 9:00 pm, police

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Off-road motorcyclist found weak and hungry after 6 days lost in wilderness

A man who went missing in a remote mountain district in Hsinchu County 6 days ago has been found alive, Hsinchu County Fire Department reported today. The 30-year-old man named Qi went missing while riding an off road motorcycle on the Gaotai Mountain Trail, Saturday, September 11. 170 people including volunteers and fire department personnel have been searching daily for Qi since Sunday. Reports today, September 17, say Qi was located by using a drone with an aerial camera at

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Reward offered for finding motorcyclist missing in mountains

Friends and colleagues of a man who has been missing in a mountain district of Hsinchu County since Saturday have raised money to offer as a reward to anybody who finds him. The 30-year-old man named Qi disappeared after becoming separated from friends while they were riding off-road motorcycles in Jianshi Township in the afternoon of September 11. According to reports, Qi and friends met to ride on trails at Gaotai Mountain at around 9:30 am Saturday. At around 1:00

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Man who robbed four shops gets instant karma when he reports scooter theft

A man who reported the theft of his motorcycle was promptly arrested when a police officer recognized him as a suspect seen on traffic monitor footage during an investigation into four shop robberies in Hsinchu County, yesterday, May 22. The 30-year-old man, named Luo, threatened storekeepers with a hammer, demanding they hand over their cash at four traditional grocery stores in Hukou and Xinfeng districts late yesterday afternoon. Escaping on a scooter with a surgical mask covering the license plate,

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