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Taiwan tallies cost
of Typhoon Saola
KICKING UP A STORM: So far, the typhoon racked
up a huge cost in agricultural damage, rendered most types of transport unusable
and triggered deadly landslides
By Shelley Shan / Staff Reporter, with agencies
Local residents yesterday wade in
flood waters in Wuche, in eastern Yilan county, as typhoon Saola approaches
Taiwan’s east coast.
Photo: Sam yeh, AFP
A tree blown over by strong winds
brought by Typhoon Saola lies across a parked car on Jhunghua Road in Miaoli
City yesterday.
Photo: Peng Chien-li, Taipei City
Local residents help clean up
Sansia’s Old Street in New Taipei City yesterday in the aftermath of flooding
caused by Typhoon Saola.
Photo: Hsieh Chia-chun, Taipei Times
Two gaping holes were left in
Cingshuei Street in Sansia, New Taipei City, by successive road collapses
between 7am and 10am yesterday.
Photo: Hsieh Chia-chun, Taipei Times
A man walks past a tree lying
across Taipei City’s Minquan E Road Sec 5 yesterday. The tree was blown over by
strong winds brought by Typhoon Saola on Wednesday night.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Typhoon Saola pounded the nation with
fierce winds and torrential rain yesterday, leaving five people dead, two
missing and 16 injured.
According to information from the Central Emergency Operation Center, as of
press time, one man in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Sansia Township (三峽) was buried
in a mudslide, the 50-year-old director of New Taipei City’s Zuntou Police
Station, Wang Ming-hsiang (王明祥), died of a heart attack while patroling
landslide-prone areas; a motorcyclist was killed after he crashed into a toppled
tree in Chiayi County; and a couple were buried by mudslides on their farm in
Yilan, the center said.
In Taipei, more than 700 people living in old communities or hillsides were
evacuated due to flooding and landslides that caused damage in Wenshan (文山),
Beitou (北投) and Shilin (士林) districts.
Severe flooding was also reported in Yilan County, New Taipei City and Taoyuan
County. Approximately 6,700 households in New Taipei City, Hsinchu, Nantou,
Changhua and Yilan were left without water.
The Ministry of National Defense, which had ordered more than 45,000 soldiers to
be on stand-by, mobilized amphibious vehicles to rescue residents trapped in
chest-deep water in Yilan County. Television news footage showed residents in
Yilan’s Wujie Township (五結) wading through the floodwater, which at one point
rose to their chests.
The Central Emergency Operation Center estimated that more than 6,000 residents
in 14 cities and counties were evacuated, 2,800 of whom stayed in temporary
shelters. Electricity to more than 177,000 households nationwide was cut at one
point.
Media reports also showed hectares of flooded farmland in low-lying coastal
areas and scenes of overflowing rivers and roads blocked by mudslides in the
nation’s mountainous center.
The transportation system was also disrupted by the stormy weather. The air
bridge at the D10 boarding gate at Terminal Two of Taiwan Taoyuan International
Airport was knocked down by gusts of wind. Nobody was injured in the incident.
The D8 boarding gate was also damaged when the axle of supporting wheels under
the air bridge broke.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration said 206 domestic flights and 103
international flights were either delayed or canceled because of the storm as of
5pm yesterday.
The Taiwan Railway Administration canceled all of its express train services on
both the east coast and west coast routes, while the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp
adjusted its services as well.
Photographs taken from a rescue helicopter showed that landslides occurred in
more than two dozen sections along the Suhua Highway, one of the main passages
connecting eastern and western Taiwan.
Information from the Central Weather Bureau showed Saola made landfall at
Hualien County at 3:20am yesterday. The storm twirled on the spot and veered off
the coast again.
At around 2pm, Saola was downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm after its
structure was partially altered by its contact with land. It then made landfall
again at Sandiaojiao (三貂角). As of 7:30pm, the center of Saola was 60km north of
Taipei, moving northwest at 16kph.
Bureau forecaster Hsieh Ming-chang (謝明昌) said that Taiwan proper could be out of
the storm’s reach by noon today if Saola continues on the same course at the
same speed.
“The rain could ease nationwide after the storm moves away today,” he added.
According to the bureau, Taipingshan (太平山) in Yilan County had the highest
accumulated rainfall yesterday, topping 1,800mm.
The bureau also reported that a tropical depression lurking off the northern
coast of Guam could potentially turn into a tropical storm.
Meanwhile, as of 4pm, agricultural losses had reached NT$218.54 million, the
Council of Agriculture said.
The Ministry of Education reported an initial NT$650,000 in damage to schools,
saying that schools in Yilan County had suffered the worst damage.
In anticipation of heavy wind and rain brought by the typhoon, classes and work
were suspended everywhere yesterday except for Taitung County.
Several festivals around the nation were also postponed and forest parks closed
due to the threat from Saola, with officials warning the public not to visit
such places out of safety concerns.
The Taipei Children’s Arts Festival was closed yesterday, while the Yilan
International Children’s Folklore and Folkgame Festival in Yilan County was
scheduled to remain closed today.
A children’s arts festival in New Taipei City was also closed, along with the
Songshan Cultural and Creative Park in Taipei.
Eighteen forest recreation and national parks, including Alishan (阿里山), Kenting
(墾丁), Taipingshan (太平山) and Hehuanshan (合歡山) park were also closed yesterday.
The Forestry Bureau warned the public not to visit the parks or mountain trails
and said the parks will only reopen after officials have inspected them and
confirmed them to be safe after the typhoon has left.
Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih
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