Typhoon Krathon causes floods and mudslides across Taiwan

Taipei, Oct. 3 (CNA) Heavy rainfall brought by Typhoon Krathon has caused flash floods and mudslides across Taiwan, damaging villages, roads and residential buildings.

One mudslide was reported on Dongxin Road in Keelung City on Wednesday after soil fell from a nearby hill into a residential unit.

Following an inspection by Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑), the city government dispatched personnel to cover the affected hillside area with tarpaulin to prevent more rain from further softening the soil.

Another mudslide was reported on the city's Ren 4th Road, where a mudslide surged into the first floor of a residential building.

According to the house owner, surnamed Lin (林), the mudslide woke him up early Thursday. The metal fence outside his house was broken by its force, as well as two gas tanks inside.

Considering the hazardous conditions, Hsieh ordered those living on the road to evacuate on Thursday.

Meanwhile an apartment complex on Keelung's Tiaohe Street experienced a landslide that also affected the Vita Hospital next door.

According to the hospital, muddy water from the landslide poured into the hospital, despite staff putting out sandbags in a bid to block it.

Meanwhile in Kaohsiung, where the typhoon made landfall, strong winds and heavy rainfall have slammed the city.

Powerful gusts shattered the glass doors of a convenience store, swept down a tin roof crushing two parked cars, blew over a tin wall of a restaurant, as well as swept down lightweight steel frames from a hospital which damaged nearby cars. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

However, in the city's Cijin District, a broken cable electrocuted a 29-year-old man, who was taken to hospital and is in stable condition.

In Renwu District, two men in their 70s were injured by falling containers but were conscious when taken to hospital.

Elsewhere in Taitung County, the Shalun River overflowed in Taimali Township on Wednesday night, flooding nearby industrial roads and farmland.

On Thursday morning, officials said the military headquarters in Taitung dispatched 30 military personnel to bring in disaster relief supplies, pile sandbags and divert overflowing water.

As of 6:30 p.m., the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC) has recorded two deaths, 219 injuries and one unaccounted for person due to the typhoon.

As of 1:45 p.m., 124 incidents of flooding have been recorded across Taiwan, 60 of which have not receded, according to the CEOC.

Most of the floods were located in Keelung and Kaohsiung, where rainwater overflowed street drainage systems and caused flooding between 10 and 40 centimeters deep, the center said.

(By Wang Chao-yu, Liu Chien-pang, Tsai Meng-yu, Lin Chiao-lien, Hung Hsueh-kuang, Tyson Lu, James Lo and Wu Kuan-hsien)

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