17 Dead in Guangfu Flash Floods, Rescue Operations Underway

TaiwanPlus News

Flash floods triggered by torrential rain from Typhoon Ragasa have left at least 17 people dead in Guangfu Township in eastern Taiwan. Our reporter Irene Lin was at the scene to see how recovery operations are going.

Transcript

00:00At least 17 people have died on Taiwan's east coast after Typhoon Ragasa moved past the country.

00:07A dam in the mountains above the town of Guangfu overflowed due to torrential rain,

00:12causing flash floods that inundated the town below.

00:16Our reporter Irene Lin joins us live from Guangfu.

00:20Irene, what's the situation there?

00:24Laurel is truly a devastating scene here in Guangfu.

00:27There's a thick layer of grayish mud covering much of the town.

00:32Now, the locals told me that the muddy water came out of the blue,

00:35rushing down the streets and into their homes.

00:38Many did not have the time to react and evacuate to higher grounds.

00:42Here's what they said.

00:44We were closed down the door. How much water is so big?

00:48There's so much water.

00:50Later I realized that the car was broken.

00:53I started to climb the water last year.

00:56There was a lot of water in my house,

00:56but there were no ресurans in the water.

00:58Everything was completely empty between the front of the river and the water.

01:04So now I took the water off.

01:09And we used to see the water was very small.

01:11We started to get out of the water,

01:13where it was very short,

01:15as soon as I used to be boiling.

01:16Now, as you can see, behind me is a convenience store that has its display windows shattered by floodwaters.

01:33And just outside the shop is a cargo container stuck at a dangerous angle.

01:39Now, some residents are trying to clean up by shoveling out the mud,

01:43but it's a never-ending job as the rain continues in this area, flooding the streets over and over.

01:51And as of now, authorities have confirmed 17 people dead and over a dozen still missing.

01:57But help from other cities and counties, including the military, is coming in.

02:02Now, they've found over 100 people reported missing and are clearing out the streets using excavators and bulldozers.

02:09So, Irene, officials evacuated thousands of people before the dam burst, but we're still seeing reports of casualties.

02:18How did all this happen?

02:22So, authorities did evacuate downstream villages in three surrounding townships.

02:29And on Tuesday morning, just hours before the dam breached, they expanded that evacuation warning to the broader area.

02:37But many people thought the dam were not breached and they decided to stay put.

02:43And there was an estimated four times more water spilling out from the dam than the officials had expected.

02:49And that's what caused the damage that we see now.

02:54Thank you for that, Irene.

02:55That was Irene Lin reporting from Guangfu in Hualien.

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