2 dead, 515 injured, 4 missing in wake of Typhoon Kong-rey

Taipei, Nov. 1 (CNA) As of Friday morning, strong winds and heavy rain from the storm formerly known as Typhoon Kong-rey had caused two deaths, injured 515 people and left four others unaccounted for, according to the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC).

A 56-year-old female foreign national died from her injuries after the small truck she was in was struck by a falling tree on Provincial Highway 14A, close to Nantou's Ren'ai Township early Thursday.

Also read: Warnings for Tropical Storm Kong-rey lifted

The woman suffered out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, authorities said, adding that efforts to resuscitate her at the Puli branch of Taichung Veterans General Hospital were unsuccessful.

The second death was reported at 8 p.m. in Taipei on Thursday after a 48-year-old man was killed by a utility pole.

The man was reportedly hit by the pole, which was brought down by a falling tree, while he walked around the capital's Neihu District.

Additionally, a 55-year-old man attempting to repair a roof on the fifth floor of a building in New Taipei's Zhonghe District fell to his death on Thursday.

However, the CEOC said his death was not considered to have been caused by the typhoon.

Furthermore, contact with four Indigenous hunters who went hunting by a stream in Nantou County has not yet been established.

The CEOC said it attempted to deploy a helicopter early Friday, but the weather prevented takeoff. Two search and rescue firefighters and a Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency official were instead dispatched to locate the hunters.

By Friday morning, 11,588 people had been evacuated and 134 emergency shelters had been set up in 13 municipalities, with 2,620 people taking shelter, the CEOC said.

Furthermore, the agency said 6,917 cases of damage had been reported by Friday morning.

Of those 2,837 cases are still being handled by agencies around the country.

The CEOC said most cases were related to fallen trees and infrastructure damage.

More than 33,000 households across the nation experienced water outages during the typhoon.

Around 21,000 households are still without water, with the CEOC stating service would be fully restored before noon on Saturday.

In addition, more than 843,000 households experienced power outages, with more than 119,000 still waiting for power to be restored.

Complete service will return by around 11 p.m. on Saturday, the agency said.

Furthermore, 108 cases of flooding had been reported across the nation, with 23 still unresolved. Ten public roads were also still closed due to obstruction, the center said.