At least one person has died, and 73 others have been injured as Typhoon Kong-rey impacts Taiwan, with the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC) reporting extensive damage as of 2pm.
Over 200,000 households are experiencing power or water outages as the storm continues to wreak havoc, Taipei Times reports.
A 56-year-old foreign female passenger tragically died at 1pm today (Thursday) when a tree fell onto the blue truck she was travelling in, in Nantou County’s Renai Township. The truck’s 76-year-old male driver, surnamed Lin, sustained slight injuries.
As a precaution, 9,658 people have been evacuated from 13 regions, including New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, and Taichung.
Authorities have set up 91 shelters across 12 regions, currently accommodating 1,822 individuals.
Water outages have affected 3,558 households nationwide, particularly in Hualien County, where 3,044 households in Rueisui Township are impacted.
Additionally, more than 207,000 households have experienced power cuts, with electricity restored to 96,000 households by early evening.
Red alerts for debris flow have been issued in four regions, including Yilan County’s Datong Township, Hualien County’s Yuli Township, New Taipei City’s Sijhih District, and Hsinchu County’s Jianshi Township.
Furthermore, 555 yellow alerts for debris flow are in effect in 11 regions, including Datong Township and Hualien County’s Guangfu Township.
Alerts for large-scale landslides have been declared in three townships: Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township, Sijhih District, and Jianshi Township.
Yellow alerts are also in place for 16 locations in seven counties and municipalities, including Datong Township.
In response to the severe weather, New Taipei Metro Corporation announced that all services on the Circular Line and the Ankeng and Danhai light rail transit systems are temporarily suspended due to strong winds.
