《TAIPEI TIMES》 Heavy rains flood Taiwan, leaving at least two dead

Tainan firefighters deploy inflatable boats to evacuate elderly residents in Rende District yesterday after heavy rain triggered severe flooding. Photo: CNA

/ Staff writer, with CNA Torrential rain battered Taiwan for a second day yesterday and caused widespread flooding nationwide that led to at least two deaths as rising waters stranded residents and prompted emergency rescues.

Premier Cho Jung-tai （卓榮泰） yesterday morning directed the Ministry of Economic Affairs to aid local governments with pumps to clear inundated areas.

The heavy rain was brought by Tropical Storm Mekkhala as it moved northward east of Taiwan, strengthening southwesterly winds and an approaching weather front from southern China, the Central Weather Administration said.

As of press time last night, the severe flooding had killed two people.

Kaohsiung police said a 73-year-old woman surnamed Huang （黃） reportedly tripped and fell into a drainage ditch while walking with her husband at 5pm on Thursday and was swept away by floodwaters.

Her body was found downstream at 6:45pm. Authorities in Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City （竹北） said a woman was found dead near her vehicle yesterday in a flooded area.

Her husband reported she was trapped in floodwaters at about 9am, local media reported.

Rescuers located her car in the afternoon. The front end of the car submerged, but she was not inside, reports said.

She was later found dead in waters nearby. Southern Taiwan bore the brunt of the heavy rains, with rising waters overwhelming communities and leaving many in Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung County stranded.

Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che （黃偉哲） said the city recorded more than 250mm of rainfall within six hours, which, along with a high tide, resulted in severe flooding.

Hsu Po-sen （許博森）, head of Tainan’s Rende District （仁德）, said such heavy rain falling over a short period flooded many roads in the district, prompting district officials and police to rush to the scene to deal with the situation and assist with evacuations.

Many of the worst-affected areas in Tainan were along the Sanyeh River, where an overflowing levee sent floodwaters up to waist level and into homes, media reported.

In Kaohsiung, the authorities dispatched rescuers in rubber boats early yesterday morning to assist residents in Lujhu （路竹） and Niaosong （鳥松） districts affected by flooding.

Hourly rainfall in districts including Cishan （旗山） and Meinong （美濃） exceeded 100mm, with cumulative rainfall in Dashu District （大樹） surpassing 600mm, the Kaohsiung City Government said.

Kaohsiung’s average annual rainfall is about 2,500mm, and nearly one-quarter of that total was recorded in a single day, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai （陳其邁） said.

Pingtung County also saw flooding in many areas after a levee in Wandan Township （萬丹） gave way late on Thursday night, sending torrents of water into Hsingchuan and Hsingan villages that inundated numerous homes, local authorities said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES

Authorities cordon off a flooded area in Hsinchu County after heavy rain triggered widespread flooding yesterday. Photo courtesy of the Hsinchu County Fire Bureau via CNA