Taipei, Aug. 9 (CNA) Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) said Friday that it was working around the clock to restore electricity to some 1,300 households after Typhoon Lekima caused blackouts to 80,457 homes in Taiwan.
As of 7 p.m. Friday, a total of 1,333 households were still left without electricity, the state utility firm said, adding that 800 workers had been deployed to resolve the issue.
According to the state-run power company, the areas affected by the blackout are in Taoyuan's Shilin District, as well as the districts of Zhonghe, Dansui and Tucheng in New Taipei.
Lekima has also caused severe mudslides in mountainous areas across Taiwan as it skirted northeastern parts of the island.
As of 6:30 p.m., a total of 289 riverside locations in northern and southern Taiwan remained on yellow alert for mudslides Friday, despite the easing of heavy rain, according to the Soil and Water Conservation Bureau (SWCB) under the Council of Agriculture.
The yellow alerts were issued for 104 villages in Yilan County, Pingtung County, Miaoli County, Taoyuan, Kaohsiung, Chiayi County and New Taipei.
Yin Hsiao-yuan (尹孝元), who heads the SWCB's Debris Flow Prevention Center, said residents living in areas issued with the yellow alert were advised to evacuate.
Based on central government regulations, local governments are obligated to evacuate people residing close to rivers only when a red alert is issued.
According to the SWCB, two villages in Hsinchu County's Wufeng and Jianshih townships have been given red alerts.
Also Friday, the Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office announced that the main line of the Alishan Forest Railway from Chiayi to Shizilu was suspended for one day due to Typhoon Lekima, and will resume Saturday.
(By Yang Shu-min, Tsai Fan-min, Chiang Chun-liang and Ko Lin)
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