Typhoon "Fung-Wong" brought record rainfall and floods to Taiwan: thousands evacuated
Kyiv • UNN
Taiwan evacuated over 8,300 people due to Typhoon "Fung-Wong," which brought record rainfall to the east coast, causing floods. In the port city of Suao, over 1,000 homes were flooded, where 648 mm of precipitation fell.
Taiwan evacuated more than 8,300 people ahead of the arrival on Wednesday of the significantly weakened Typhoon Fung-Wong, which brought record rainfall to the mountainous eastern coast and caused floods that in some places reached mountain levels, UNN reports with reference to Reuters.
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Businesses and schools were closed in most southern areas of the island, and 51 people were injured.
Television footage showed severe flooding in some areas of the predominantly rural eastern county of Yilan. Water reached mountain levels, and soldiers began rescue operations for those in distress.
More than 1,000 homes were flooded in the port city of Suao, where 648 mm of rain fell on Tuesday, a record for the month, forecasters said.
"The water came so fast," said fisherman Hong Chun-yi, who spent the night clearing mud from his home after the first floor was flooded with 60 cm of water. "The rain poured so hard and so fast that the drainage system couldn't cope."
Other locals also worked to clear flooded homes in Suao, as the rains subsided.
The fire department said about 8,300 people had been relocated from their homes to safer areas, mostly in Yilan and nearby Hualien, where the monsoon from the north increased rainfall due to the unusually late typhoon.
"Summer is getting longer, and typhoons are coming later and later," said Huang En-hong, a forecaster at Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau.
Climate change could lead to similar, more extreme weather events, but more research is needed to establish a trend, he added.
Typhoon Fung-Wong is forecast to graze the southern tip of Taiwan later on Wednesday before heading into the Pacific Ocean. It has significantly weakened after passing through the Philippines, where it claimed 27 lives.
In September, a typhoon caused floods that killed 18 people in Hualien.
This week, the typhoon will not directly affect the northern city of Hsinchu, home to TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker.