《TAIPEI TIMES》 Typhoon kills four in Taiwan

By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter

Four people died and two were injured in a vehicle accident in Taoyuan’s Fusing District （復興） yesterday, as Typhoon Khanun brought heavy rain and strong winds to northern Taiwan.

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The Taoyuan Fire Department said the accident occurred at about noon when a Taiwan Power Co （Taipower, 台電） construction vehicle fell down a 50m slope while rounding a curve near Sbunaw Bridge （雪霧鬧橋）.

Four passengers showed no vital signs when rescuers arrived at the site, while one man and one woman sustained injuries.

Further investigation is necessary to determine possible causes of the accident, the police said.

The state-run power firm said that the vehicle was carrying contract workers who were recruited to work on electricity towers along Provincial Highway No. 7.

Taipower had told the contractor that there would be no work because of the typhoon, Taipower spokesman Tsai Chih-meng （蔡志孟） said, adding that the contractor had confirmed that no one was at work.

“We have dispatched personnel to Taoyuan to get a better understanding of the situation,” Tsai added.

While Taipei, New Taipei City and Keelung declared yesterday a typhoon day, the Taoyuan City Government said that work and school would continue as usual.

It had been raining continually in Fusing since Wednesday night as the typhoon approached, possibly rendering the roads slippery.

As of 2:30pm yesterday, the Central Emergency Operation Center had recorded 250 cases of damage caused by the storm, 110 of which were fallen trees on roadsides and 46 involved infrastructure damage.

As of 3pm yesterday, 1,741 households had no power, including 1,730 in seven districts in New Taipei City and 11 in Yilan County’s Sansing Township （三星）.

The typhoon also disrupted air travel, shipping and railway services across the nation. Eighty domestic and 46 international flights, as well as 44 ferry services, were canceled, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said.

As of 6pm, Khanun was centered 330km northeast of Taipei and was moving northeast at 8kph, Central Weather Bureau forecaster Hsu Chung-yi （徐仲毅） said.

The typhoon had weakened slightly and appeared to be spinning in place, with its radius briefly reaching the nation’s northeast coast, Hsu said.

Today, residents of mountainous areas in Kaohsiung and Taichung, as well as Miaoli, Nantou, Chiayi and Pingtung counties, should beware of damage caused by extremely heavy rainfall brought by a southwest wind.

The bureau forecast that the typhoon would be closest to Taiwan from last night to early this morning before moving north today, Hsu said, adding that it might lift the land alert this afternoon.

Winds on Orchid Island （Lanyu, 蘭嶼） and Green Island （綠島） could reach Level 11 or 12 on the Beaufort scale, while those on north and northeast coasts could reach Level 10 or 11, he said.

As of press time last night, the Kaohsiung City Government announced that school and work would be canceled today in Taoyuan （桃源）, Maolin （茂林）, Namasia （那瑪夏）, Jiasian （甲仙） and Liouguei （六龜） districts, while the Taitung County Government canceled work and school on Orchid Island and Green Island.

Work and school are to resume today in Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Yilan County.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES