The bursting of a barrier lake in Taiwan’s eastern Hualien County has killed at least 17 people, officials said Wednesday, as rescue teams continued operations after Super Typhoon Ragasa unleashed torrential rains across the island.
"It was like a volcano erupting.... the muddy floodwaters came roaring straight into the first floor of my house," Hsu Cheng-hsiung, 55, a neighbourhood leader of Guangfu township, told AFP.
The death toll in Hualien rose to 17 from 14, while the number of missing fell from 152 to 17 as most people have been located, the National Fire Agency said.
"Seventeen people remain missing after the Mataian Creek barrier lake burst. We must... seize the time for rescue," interior minister Liu Shyh-fang said at a government briefing.
The disaster struck Tuesday afternoon when the decades-old barrier lake on the upper Mataian Creek, formed by an earlier landslide, burst under the force of heavy rainfall. The floodwaters washed away a bridge and inundated a nearby town, trapping more than 260 people.
“In some places, water temporarily rose as high as the second floor of a house and was about one floor in the town centre, where the water has been receding,” Lee Lung-sheng, deputy chief of Hualien County Fire Department, told AFP. “About 263 people were trapped and moved up to higher ground when the river suddenly rose. They are not in immediate danger, but they are very worried about the high water.”
Authorities said the stranded residents were asked to remain in place until waters receded. Two people were initially reported missing, and search operations are still ongoing.
Footage released by Taiwan’s National Fire Agency showed flooded streets, submerged vehicles and uprooted trees in Hualien County. Across Taiwan, more than 7,600 people were evacuated due to the typhoon, including 3,100 residents moved beforehand near the creek area.
Super Typhoon Ragasa had earlier battered the northern Philippines before hitting Taiwan, forcing thousands from their homes with strong winds and relentless downpours. Taiwan, which lies in the path of frequent tropical storms from July to October, faced a similar disaster in July when Typhoon Danas killed two people and injured hundreds after dumping more than 20 inches of rain across the south.
"It was like a volcano erupting.... the muddy floodwaters came roaring straight into the first floor of my house," Hsu Cheng-hsiung, 55, a neighbourhood leader of Guangfu township, told AFP.
The death toll in Hualien rose to 17 from 14, while the number of missing fell from 152 to 17 as most people have been located, the National Fire Agency said.
"Seventeen people remain missing after the Mataian Creek barrier lake burst. We must... seize the time for rescue," interior minister Liu Shyh-fang said at a government briefing.
The disaster struck Tuesday afternoon when the decades-old barrier lake on the upper Mataian Creek, formed by an earlier landslide, burst under the force of heavy rainfall. The floodwaters washed away a bridge and inundated a nearby town, trapping more than 260 people.
“In some places, water temporarily rose as high as the second floor of a house and was about one floor in the town centre, where the water has been receding,” Lee Lung-sheng, deputy chief of Hualien County Fire Department, told AFP. “About 263 people were trapped and moved up to higher ground when the river suddenly rose. They are not in immediate danger, but they are very worried about the high water.”
Authorities said the stranded residents were asked to remain in place until waters receded. Two people were initially reported missing, and search operations are still ongoing.
Footage released by Taiwan’s National Fire Agency showed flooded streets, submerged vehicles and uprooted trees in Hualien County. Across Taiwan, more than 7,600 people were evacuated due to the typhoon, including 3,100 residents moved beforehand near the creek area.
Super Typhoon Ragasa had earlier battered the northern Philippines before hitting Taiwan, forcing thousands from their homes with strong winds and relentless downpours. Taiwan, which lies in the path of frequent tropical storms from July to October, faced a similar disaster in July when Typhoon Danas killed two people and injured hundreds after dumping more than 20 inches of rain across the south.
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