Eight tourists at a bed and breakfast (B&B) in Yilan were evacuated Sunday by rescue workers on a rubber dinghy, as torrential rain from Tropical Storm Nesat flooded parts of the northeast county.
The visitors called for help at 8:40 a.m., when they saw the flood waters rising above waist height on Qinghua 2nd Road, where the B&B is located, and the rescue workers arrived at about 9:55 a.m., according to the Yilan County Fire Bureau.
All eight guests at the B&B were safely evacuated on a rubber dinghy and taken to an emergency shelter in Yilan, the bureau said.
The flooding in parts of Yilan, including Yuanshan Township, was caused by Tropical Storm Nesat, which was located 260 kilometers south-southwest of Eluanbi on Taiwan’s southern tip as of 2 p.m. Sunday and was moving in a westerly direction at 16 kilometers per hour, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).
Flooding was also reported Sunday in Hualien County, in the townships of Zhuoxi, Yuli, Shoufeng, Guangfu and Ruisui, causing traffic disruptions, the local government said.
As of 2 p.m. Sunday, Nesat had a radius of 200 km and was carrying maximum sustained winds of 108 kph, with gusts of up to 137 kph, according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB).
The CWB has issued a sea warning for Nesat, which it said may be lifted Sunday evening, but it warned that the heavy rainfall is likely to continue for the next few days.
On Sunday, the Council of Agriculture issued mudslide warnings for 69 areas in Greater Taipei, Yilan, Hualien, Taoyuan, and Hsinchu County.
Due to landslides, road sections on three major east-west highways in Taiwan were closed — namely the 47-50 km section of the Northern Cross-Island Highway, the 117 km section of the Central Cross-Island Highway, and the 25-44 km section of the Southern Cross-Island Highway, the transportation ministry said.
Air traffic was also affected, the transportation ministry said, adding that as of 2 p.m., 16 domestic flights had been canceled and nine were delayed.
Meanwhile, parts of Taroko National Park in eastern Taiwan and Kenting National Park in the south were closed due to the storm, while Yangmingshan National Park in Taipei was completed shut down.
The CWB has warned of more flooding, rockfalls and landslides across Taiwan, as Nesat continues to strengthen, bringing downpours and strong gusts to northern, eastern and central Taiwan into Monday.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel