Typhoon Ragasa leaves 14 dead, 124 missing after lake barrier collapse in Taiwan
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At least 14 people were killed in Taiwan after a decades-old lake barrier burst in Hualien County during Super Typhoon Ragasa, officials said Wednesday.
The powerful storm brought torrential rains and strong winds, forcing mass evacuations across the island.
The barrier collapsed on Tuesday, sweeping away a bridge and surging into a nearby town. Lee Kuan-ting, a press official for the Hualien County Government, said that as of 7 am Wednesday (2300 GMT Tuesday), 14 people had been confirmed dead and 18 injured. Rescuers were searching for 30 missing people.
Later, the National Fire Agency raised the number of missing to 124. Hualien fire officials said floodwaters rose as high as the second floor of houses in some areas on Tuesday, temporarily stranding about 263 people. They were not in immediate danger and were advised to remain in place until the waters receded.
Footage released by the fire agency showed flooded streets, half-submerged vehicles, and uprooted trees across the region.
In total, more than 7,600 people were evacuated across Taiwan due to Typhoon Ragasa. Around 3,100 residents near the creek in Hualien were moved out earlier and relocated to stay with relatives, according to the fire agency.
Ragasa first struck the northern Philippines before hitting Taiwan on Monday. The storm is the latest in a series of tropical systems battering the island, which is regularly affected by typhoons between July and October.
In early July, Typhoon Danas killed two people and injured hundreds, dumping over 20 inches of rain across southern Taiwan in a single weekend.