Two dead, 487 flood incidents logged as torrential rains pound Taiwan

Taipei, June 26 (CNA) Torrential rain battered Taiwan for a second day Friday and caused widespread flooding nationwide that led to at least two deaths as rising waters stranded residents and prompted emergency rescues.

Nationwide floods

As of noon Friday, 487 floods had been recorded across Taiwan since early Thursday morning, with the most in Kaohsiung (104), followed by Pingtung County (95), Taipei (82), and Tainan (79), while 74 areas remained under water, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).

Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday morning directed the MOEA to aid local governments with pumping machines to clear inundated areas, the ministry said in a news release.

The heavy rain was being fueled by Tropical Storm Mekkhala as it moved northward east of Taiwan, strengthening southwesterly winds and an approaching weather front from southern China, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

Two casualties

The severe flooding has led to two deaths so far.

According to Kaohsiung police, a 73‑year‑old woman surnamed Huang (黃) reportedly tripped and fell into a drainage ditch while walking toward farmland with her husband at 5 p.m. Thursday, and was swept away by floodwaters. Her body was found downstream at 6:45 p.m.

On Friday, a woman who became trapped after driving her car into floodwaters was found dead near the vehicle in Zhubei, Hsinchu County, local authorities said.

According to local media reports, her husband reported that she was trapped in the floodwaters at around 9 a.m., and rescuers located the woman's car on Section 1 of Huanbei Road on Friday afternoon with its front end submerged, but she was not inside. They later discovered her lying face down nearby.

Southern Taiwan

Southern Taiwan bore the brunt of heavy rains that continued overnight Thursday, with rising waters overwhelming communities and leaving many residents stranded in Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Pingtung County by morning.

Several residents in Tainan told CNA that floods began at around 2 or 3 a.m. Friday and represented the worst flooding they had experienced in many years.

Speaking to the media at a pumping station Friday, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) said the city recorded more than 250 millimeters of rainfall within six hours and, along with a high tide, was responsible for the severe flooding.

Hsu Po-sen (許博森), head of Tainan's Rende District, said the large amount of rain that fell in a short period of time caused many roads in the district to be flooded, prompting district officials and police to rush to the scene to deal with the situation and assist with evacuations.

A neighborhood office in Tainan's East District said it began receiving flood reports around 2 or 3 a.m. Friday, as waters along Yuyi Road near National Freeway No. 1 spread westward.

One office official said the flooding had not been this severe since Typhoon Morakot 17 years ago.

Many of the worst-affected areas in Tainan were along the Sanyeh River, where an overflowing levee sent floodwaters up to waist level and into homes, according to local media.

Tainan Mayor Huang said the flood control standard for the Sanyeh River -- designed to withstand a 25‑year flood without levee overflow -- remained inadequate.

In Kaohsiung, local authorities dispatched rescuers in rubber boats early Friday morning to assist residents in Lujhu and Niaosong districts affected by flooding.

Seeing Cuihua Road in Zuoying District inundated with yellow floodwaters, a resident remarked with a wry smile, "This isn't a road, is it? It's a river."

According to the Kaohsiung City government, hourly rainfall in districts including Cishan, Meinong, Dashu, Neimen, and Tianliao exceeded 100 millimeters, with cumulative rainfall in Dashu District surpassing 600 millimeters.

With Kaohsiung's average annual rainfall around 2,500 millimeters, nearly one‑quarter of that total fell in just a single day, Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said.

During a visit to flooded areas, Chen said he ordered the acceleration of flood control projects to boost drainage capacity and strengthen the city's resilience against flooding.

Pingtung County also saw flooding in many areas after a levee in Wandan Township gave way late Thursday night, sending torrents of water into Hsingchuan and Hsingan villages that inundated numerous homes, according to local authorities.

Meanwhile, in the county's Kanding, Linbian, and Jiadung townships, floodwaters rose to knee level on many roads and spilled into residential homes, local authorities reported.

Taipei

In Taipei, Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) visited Neihu District, which reported the bulk of the flooding in the city Thursday and early Friday, and convened a meeting at the city's disaster response center to review flood precautionary measures in response to the heavy rains.

The rainfall in Neihu exceeded 100 millimeters in a single hour on Thursday, while several other monitoring stations also recorded levels surpassing the Taipei drainage system's designed capacity of 78.8 millimeters per hour, Chiang said.

Chiang said the city government has approved NT$6.5 billion (US$234 million) in funding to raise Taipei's overall drainage capacity from 78.8 millimeters to 88.8 millimeters per hour.