Flooding caused by Typhoon Gaemi continues in central, southern Taiwan

Taipei, July 26 (CNA) Heavy rain brought by Typhoon Gaemi and its peripheral circulation has caused severe flooding across Taiwan, with flooding continuing in central and southern areas on Friday.

Xizhen Village in Yunlin County's Dapi Township recorded waist-high floodwater, with road links to the village severed.

Village chief Tang Wen-ching (唐文卿) said nearby rivers burst their banks Thursday evening, causing Yantan drainage ditch which goes through the village to overflow.

According to Tang, the water was still 130 to 150 centimeters deep as of Friday morning.

Villagers said the area has never previously encountered such severe flooding.

Hsu Hung-po (許宏博), head of the Yunlin County Water Resources Department, said the flooding is expected to recede at the earliest Friday night or Saturday morning if the rain abates.

Wanxing Village in Shuilin Township also experienced severe flooding, caused by water overflowing from Wanxing drainage ditch Thursday afternoon, Hsu added.

It will take several days to completely drain the water using pumps, Hsu said.

Several areas in neighboring Changhua County also experienced severe flooding.

Eight residents of Guangxing Ward in the county's Erlin Township were evacuated on a rubber dinghy Thursday night, ward chief Chan Chin-shui (詹金水) told CNA, adding that water levels remain waist-high as of Friday morning.

A resident of Puyan Township said while on his way to work on Friday, he could only determine the location of the road from the position of utility poles, as the fields and roads remained submerged by floodwater. He decided to take a detour and arrived safely at his workplace.

Meanwhile near Tianliao Moon World, a tourist attraction in Kaohsiung, flooding reached one-story high on Thursday, and according to the city's Water Resource Bureau floodwater was still 17 centimeters deep as of 8 a.m. Friday.

Flood water in part of the city's Gangshan District was also 25 centimeters deep, the bureau added.

In other flooded areas around the city flood water is receding, the bureau said.

In addition to severe flooding, torrential rain has also caused landslides which cut off mountainous areas.

Over 120 people were stranded at Lishan's Xinjiayang Tribe in Taichung's Heping District, with limited supplies and a partial power outage.

Lishan Ward chief Lai Cheng-kung (賴盛功) told reporters Friday that supplies purchased by the Heping District Office will be delivered to the tribe on foot, as road links to the area remain severed.

According to the Guguan branch of the Highway Bureau's Central Region Branch Office, all roads in and around Lishan have been affected by Typhoon Gaemi.

The branch is now working on clearing mud and rocks in a tunnel at the 96 kilometer marker of the Provincial Highway No. 8, in the hope of providing a temporary single-lane for traffic by 5 p.m.

Central Emergency Operation Center statistics indicated that as of 2 p.m. Friday, 3,153 flood-related incidents had been reported, with seven people dead, 1 missing and 785 injured across Taiwan.

Typhoon Gaemi was downgraded to a tropical storm on Thursday evening.