Heavy rain leaves 3 dead, 1 missing

Taipei, June 27 (CNA) Three people have died and one remains missing after days of rain brought by a weather front and southwesterly winds, the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC) said Saturday.

The fatalities were reported in Kaohsiung's Shanlin District, and Hsinchu County's Zhubei City and Hsinfeng Township, while the missing person was from Xinpu Township, also in Hsinchu County, according to CEOC figures as of 1 p.m. Saturday.

Meanwhile, a landslide-dammed lake on Hualien County's Wanli River reached about 70 percent of its capacity Saturday, prompting authorities to issue a red alert, the CEOC said.

Liao Yi-kuang (廖一光), deputy director-general of the Ministry of Agriculture's Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, told CNA that the agency's Hualien branch issued the alert at noon as the ministry activated the CEOC to monitor the risk of further landslides and possible overflow.

The Central Weather Administration issued an extremely heavy rain advisory Saturday, warning that the weather system could continue to bring intense downpours across much of Taiwan.

Localized heavy or extremely heavy rain was forecast for Yunlin County, while Nantou County, Taichung, Changhua County, Chiayi County, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Pingtung County were expected to see localized heavy rain.

Areas north of Miaoli, as well as eastern Taiwan and Penghu County, also faced a chance of heavy rain, the CWA said.