Torrential rain from storm Krathon kills two more

Taipei, Oct. 5 (CNA) "Extremely torrential rain" brought by storm Krathon, which weakened from a typhoon to a regular low-pressure system Friday, caused two more deaths as of 8 a.m. Saturday, according to the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC).

So far, four people have died, 714 have been injured and one individual is still unaccounted for, the CEOC said.

The latest people to be confirmed dead were a husband and wife from New Taipei's Jinshan District.

Speaking to local press on Saturday, New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) confirmed that the couple went missing on Friday night following "extremely torrential rain" in the district.

They were swept away by rising floodwaters and drowned after the water levels of a stream in the district had risen, he said.

According to the area's local fire bureau, a report of a sighting of the body of the 65-year-old man was made by residents at 6:03 a.m. on Saturday.

The bureau added that the body of the 51-year-old woman was discovered around 50 minutes later.

Hou explained that the lingering effects of Krathon drenched Jinshan in 527 millimeters of rain in just 12 hours and 625 mm in 24 hours, the most disastrous catastrophe to hit the district in the last few decades.

Meanwhile, doctors at the Jinshan branch of National Taiwan University Hospital were forced to use inflatable boats to switch shifts after the torrential rain caused severe flooding in Jinshan on Friday, said Tsai Jaw-shiun (蔡兆勳), superintendent of the hospital branch, in a Facebook post.

As well as Jinshan, the sheer amount of precipitation from Krathon in such a short period also affected most of the coastal districts in New Taipei.

The heavy rain caused several traffic disruptions that led three elementary schools and one high school in the northern city to keep their students in school for safety on Friday after class.

According to New Taipei's Education Department, more than 180 students, faculty and staff from Zhongjiao Elementary School, Jinshan Elementary School, Jinmei Elementary School and Jinshan High School were forced to stay behind.

It said that the elementary school students were all picked up by their families at approximately 1 a.m. on Saturday after the rain eased.

The 46 students at Jinshan High School returned home by 7:30 a.m., the department added.