Over 300 households still without power after heavy rain in Taiwan

Taipei, Aug. 4 (CNA) Three-hundred-and-three households in Taiwan remained without electricity as of Monday morning, following days of heavy rain and flooding in central and southern areas, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

The ministry said power had been cut to 50,671 homes due to the downpours, and that restoration work will resume once roads are reopened or floodwater is drained from underground structures.

To support local governments in clearing standing water, the Water Resources Agency (WRA) has deployed 47 mobile pumps, the MOEA said.

On Monday morning, Taiwan's Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC) held a work meeting chaired by Tu Wen-jane (杜文珍), who also serves as deputy minister of Taiwan's Ministry of Agriculture (MOA).

Tu instructed the CEOC's medical and environmental teams to "fully support" local governments in disease prevention efforts and to ensure a rapid response to health concerns.

According to CEOC, 40 shelters remain in operation across six counties and cities, currently housing 636 people.

Most of the evacuees are in Kaohsiung (359 people) and Pingtung County (218).

The center said 5,925 people were evacuated in total.

The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that no unusual outbreaks or cluster infections have occurred.

However, the agency warned that exposure to contaminated or stagnant water or sludge during the cleanup of homes could result in diseases such as leptospirosis, melioidosis or dengue fever.

The CDC urged the public to wear appropriate protective gear, pay attention to food hygiene and eliminate mosquito-breeding sources.

It also noted that 150,307 bottles of disinfectant have been stockpiled for use in disaster-affected areas.

The CEOC said alerts for debris flows and large-scale landslides remained in effect.

Ten sections of Taiwan's provincial highways were closed as a precautionary measure, five were blocked due to damage, and one additional disaster-related road incident was reported.

The CEOC said repairs on Provincial Highway No. 16 and Provincial Highway No. 20 were expected to be completed on Monday.

Traffic controls will be lifted once conditions are deemed safe, it said.

Meanwhile, search and rescue operations continued along the Southern Cross-Island Highway (Provincial Highway No. 20), where a vehicle had fallen into a valley.