Torrential rain in Taiwan causes 5 deaths, 3 missing, 78 injuries

Taipei, Aug. 4 (CNA) Five people have died, three people remain missing, and 78 people have been injured amid torrential downpours that have battered Taiwan since July 28, the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC) said in a statement Monday.

The latest death was reported by police in Chiayi County on Monday morning, after the body of a woman who was suspected to have fallen into a creek near her home in Alishan Township the day before was spotted.

The body was found between rocks in the creek on the downstream side after the search that was suspended overnight due to high water levels resumed, according to the Chiayi County Police Department's Jhuci Precinct.

It was the fifth death linked to the heavy rainfall since July 28, and followed the deaths of a woman whose body was recovered in waters off Kaohsiung on Sunday and a 57-year-old man who drowned on July 31 when he rode into a heavily flooded street in Nantou County, according to the CEOC.

The first fatalities were two deaths that occurred on July 30 when a vehicle carrying a family of five plunged into a ravine along Provincial Highway No. 20 in Kaohsiung during bad weather, the CEOC said.

Two bodies were recovered, while three of the passengers remained missing as of 5:40 p.m. on Monday, the CEOC said.

Meanwhile, 78 people across Taiwan have been injured in incidents related to the torrential downpours, while three were trapped by floods and waiting to be rescued, according to the CEOC.

Between 12 a.m. on July 28 and 4 p.m. Monday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) recorded accumulated rainfall of 2,922 millimeters in Kaohsiung's Maolin District and 2,364 mm in Wutai Township in Pingtung County, according to the statement.

Up to 50,671 households were hit by power outages, and state-run Taiwan Power Co. was still working to restore the power supply to 303 households by 5 p.m. Monday, the CEOC said.

The Ministry of Agriculture reported estimated agricultural losses hitting NT$260.19 million (US$8.73 million) as of 5 p.m. Monday due to the wet weather, including NT$45.28 million worth of persimmon and NT$23.37 million worth of dates.

Cash handouts and low-interest rate loans are available to eligible farmers, the ministry said.

During his visit to Kaohsiung on Monday, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said the Cabinet is set to pass a special bill with more than NT$30 billion earmarked for rebuilding in the aftermath of Typhoon Danas that affected Taiwan in early July and the recent torrential downpours.