Taiwan evacuates thousands as typhoon lingers
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Rainstorms triggered by lingering Typhoon Parma in Bashi Channel near Taiwan have ripped off the island's roads and railways and forced thousands of people to leave their homes Monday.
Violent storms severely damaged the east, north and south parts of Taiwan, where water levels of rivers and streams rose sharply and traffic on major roads and railways were suspended due to landslides and mud-rock flow.
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| A woman meets her husband on a waterlogged street in Ilan County, southeast China's Taiwan Province, Oct. 5, 2009. Affected by Parma, the 17th tropical storm this year, Yilan County was hit by heavy rainfall on Monday, causing waterlog in many villages. [Xinhua] |
No casualty has been reported so far except a man in eastern Taiwan was suspected of drowning.
The man, who is yet to be identified, was found in Taitung County and rescuers said he might have been drown after his attempt to cross a swelling stream failed.
Yilan County, which is located in northeastern Taiwan, is the place hit the hardest. Local authorities have urged citizens to leave their homes before nightfall.
Taiwan military authorities have deployed amphibious vehicles and hundreds of disaster-relief soldiers to help with the evacuation of residents in disaster-hit areas and help with consolidating dams.
On Monday, the county administration of Yilan asked local residents to have leave their work for two days and called off school classes.
Torrential rains have paralyzed parts of the island's traffic. Flights linking Taitung County to Taipei were either postponed or canceled. Shipping services in Taitung County were partially suspended.
Continued rainfall and strong wind in Taipei have resulted in heavy traffic jams during rush hours.
According to Taiwan's "Executive Yuan" head Wu Den-yih, more than 6,000 people were evacuated from southern Taiwan as the area was seriously affected by the rainstorms.
Local meteorologic authorities had forecasted heavy rains in the north and east parts of the island and mountainous regions in central and southern Taiwan on Oct. 6.
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