TAIPEI/TOKYO, (Reuters) – A mudslide triggered by torrential rains from a typhoon may have buried up to 600 villagers in mountainous southern Taiwan, disaster officials said yesterday.
More than 50 people have died in tropical storms striking the Phillipines, Taiwan, China and Japan.
The death toll so far in Taiwan stood at 15, with 55 missing and 32 hurt, since Typhoon Morakot struck the island on Friday and remained in the area through the weekend before battering China’s populous east coast.
Rescue squads aboard helicopters had saved only 45 people from Hsiao Lin, a village of 1,000 in southern Taiwan. Rains washed out roads and bridges in Kaohsiung County, severing all land vehicle traffic.
“No small number of single-storey houses have been covered in mudslides,” said Richard Hu, an army major-general. “We don’t know how many people are there, but homes have definitely been buried.”
Local officials said they had lost contact with up to 600 villagers, with inclement weather reducing even helicopter access. The storm caused floods in Taiwan’s densely-populated south and farm-related losses on the island were estimated at T$4.2 billion ($128 million).
