2 dead, 667 injured and 1 missing in the wake of Typhoon Krathon

Taipei, Oct. 4 (CNA) Heavy winds and rain brought by the storm that had been Typhoon Krathon had caused two deaths, injured 667 and left one person unaccounted for as of 8 a.m. Friday, according to the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC).

As the storm continues to weaken, Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Friday downgraded Krathon from a tropical storm to a tropical depression before further designating it a regular low-pressure system while also lifting sea and land typhoon warnings.

Since then, public services and transportation have gradually returned to normal across Taiwan, including air and sea travel between Taiwan proper and the outlying Penghu Islands.

Recreational areas such as Alishan Mountain have also lifted restrictions and fully resumed operations.

However, Krathon left a trail of disruptions in its wake since its outer rim first hit Taiwan on Monday.

In addition to countless road closures, the center said 18,206 households around Taiwan were still without water as of 8 a.m. Friday.

In terms of casualties, Krathon-related deaths include a 66-year-old man whose truck he was driving was hit by a huge boulder on the South Link Highway in Taitung County's Taimali Township Monday. Efforts to treat the driver were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at a local hospital Wednesday morning.

Another death was a man in his 70s who fell to his death while trimming a tree at his home in Hualien County's Shoufeng Township.

The one missing person occurred in Yunlin County, where a suspected migrant worker fell into the sea on Tuesday.

Searches for the individual were suspended for the duration of Krathon due to difficult sea conditions.

Other than the storm causing 667 injuries, Krathon also resulted in the temporary relocation of 11,362 individuals in 14 municipalities as of 7 a.m. Friday, the center added.

Ten municipalities established a total of 133 shelters for the placement of 2,117 people effected by Krathon.

In Tainan, the city government told CNA it had preemptively relocated 464 people from 14 typhoon-prone communities, although a number of those were allowed to return home Friday with the weakening of the storm.

The locations hit hardest by Typhoon Krathon were Pingtung County and Kaohsiung.

Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) said that as of 9 a.m. Friday, 270,544 households in Pingtung and Kaohsiung had experienced power outages.

Across Taiwan, a total of 398,459 households experienced power outages, Taipower added.

As of 12 p.m. Friday, 302,855 households had had their electricity restored, though 95,604 remained without power, including 41,786 households in Pingtung and 52,576 in Kaohsiung.

Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Friday said the city's goal is to resume traffic operations on main streets and roads by Friday.

Chen revealed that Taiwan's military deployed about 1,000 personnel to assist the southern port city with disaster relief work.