Typhoon lashes Taiwan, leaving two dead, one missing

TAIPEI (AFP) Sep 02, 2003
Two people were killed and hundreds of thousands of homes across Taiwan suffered power blackouts Tuesday as gale-force winds and torrential rain from Typhoon Dujuan battered the island, officials said.

The typhoon left a trail of destruction across Taiwan and wreaked havoc with air and rail traffic before the Central Weather Bureau lifted the typhoon warning at 11:30 am (0330 GMT).

The first fatality was identified as 54-year-old Lin Tze-rong, who drowned Tuesday morning on the offshore island of Penghu, said the National Fire Agency, which coordinates national rescue missions.

The second victim was a 51-year-old janitor, Tang Teh-nan, who fell to his death while trying to close a window of his building in Sanchung city, Taipei county.

A 23-year-old student was also missing feared dead after being swept away in flood water while conducting research in a mountainous area of eastern Taitung County.

The typhoon left 549,349 households in darkness at one point, with power supply to 110,000 homes still interrupted as of 4:00 pm (0800 GMT), according to the state-run Taiwan Power Company (Taipower).

"Our workers worked very hard to restore power supply. But it took time to remove the uprooted trees which cut off electricity cables," a Taipower spokesman said.

In the central county of Nantou, rising floods washed away a bridge linking the remote Shuanglung Village, leaving some 900 residents stranded.

In Taitung county which bore the brunt of the typhoon, trees were uprooted and five passenger cars were submerged after floods burst an embankment. Two freighters were grounded near the Fukang fishing port.

Some international flights were called off for safety considerations, according to the aviation authorities.

At 4 pm (0800 GMT), Typhoon Dujuan was centred about 190 kilometersmiles) east of Hong Kong (near 22.2 degrees north 116.0 degrees).

Packing winds of up to 155 kilometers (96 miles) at its center, the typhoon was moving west at an hourly speed of 30 kilometers towards Hong Kong and Guangdong province in southern China, forecasters said.

But torrential rains will continue in southeastern and southern Taiwan as well as the mountainous areas in northern, central and northeastern parts of the island.

"Residents in these areas must stay vigilant against possible landslides," the bureau added.

As of Tuesday morning, the most rainfall had been registered at Pingtung County with 606 milimeters (24.24 inches), followed by eastern Ilan County with 354 milimeters, according to the bureau.

TERRA.WIRE