Woman killed by falling tree in southern Taiwan as Typhoon Gaemi nears

Taipei, July 24 (CNA) A woman riding a scooter in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan was killed by a falling tree on Wednesday, while 58 others around the nation have sustained injuries as a result of approaching Typhoon Gaemi, data from the Central Emergency Operations Center (CEOC) showed.

The 64-year-old was hit by the tree around noon amid strong winds and heavy rain brought by the storm, as she rode a scooter through Fengshan District, the Kaohsiung City Fire Department said.

Upon arrival at the scene, emergency responders and paramedics found that she had suffered cardiac arrest, the department said. She was declared dead after resuscitation efforts failed.

In addition, 58 others around Taiwan have so far been injured as a result of the typhoon, which continues churning toward the island, the CEOC said.

The center said that as of 2:30 p.m., it had received reports of a total of 962 incidents of typhoon damage, including 458 cases related to fallen trees, 163 involving damaged infrastructure, and 76 of building damage.

A total of 11,682 households were left without power mainly in Yilan and Miaoli counties and Tainan, according to the CEOC.

In addition, the New Taipei City government reported that as of noon on Wednesday, it had received reports of 33 incidents of typhoon damage, including 20 cases involving fallen trees, four regarding electrical wires and three power outages.

In Sanzhi, the owner of a 3-story house was hurt when strong winds blew off the house's galvanized iron roof, the city government said. However, the 30 year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), did not sustain life-threatening injuries, local police said.

Moreover, a power outage due to a damaged power line caused by fallen trees in Houli District, Taichung, left 510 households without power on Wednesday morning, the city government said.

Power was restored by the afternoon, it added.