Typhoon Fung-wong causes severe flooding in Taiwan with 8,300 evacuated, 51 injured, and neck-deep waters in eastern counties.
TAIPEI: Typhoon Fung-wong unleashed heavy downpours across Taiwan’s mountainous east coast, prompting mass evacuations and causing widespread flooding.
More than 8,300 people were evacuated from their homes ahead of the storm’s arrival on Wednesday.
Businesses and schools closed across most southern regions as the typhoon brought neck-deep floodwaters to several areas.
Television footage showed severe flooding in rural Yilan county, where soldiers conducted rescue operations for stranded residents.
Fisherman Hung Chun-yi described how floodwaters rapidly inundated his home in Suao harbour town.
“The water came in so quickly,” he said while clearing mud from his flooded first floor.
“It rained so much, and so fast, the drainage couldn’t take it.”
The fire department coordinated evacuations primarily in Yilan and nearby Hualien counties.
A northern monsoon combined with the unseasonably late typhoon to intensify rainfall across the region.
Dongshan town in Yilan recorded 794 mm of rainfall on Tuesday according to weather officials.
Fung-wong significantly weakened after causing 27 fatalities in the Philippines before reaching Taiwan.
The typhoon is forecast to graze Taiwan’s southern tip before moving into the Pacific Ocean.
Northern Hsinchu city, home to TSMC’s chip manufacturing facilities, remains unaffected by the storm.
This marks the second major flooding event in months after a September typhoon killed 18 people in Hualien.
Authorities reported 51 injuries from the typhoon’s impact across affected regions. – Reuters
