TAIPEI: Taiwan was hit on Sunday by its second major storm in two days after Typhoon Nesat battered the island, leaving at least 111 injured while causing flooding and widespread power outages.
Much of the island came to a standstill on Saturday after Nesat made landfall in the eastern county of Yilan, whipping up massive waves of over 49 feet and dumping up to 23 inches of rain in the southern region of Pingtung.
It moved away from Taiwan on Sunday as Tropical Storm Haitang churned towards the south of the island and made landfall in Pingtung in late afternoon, said the Central Weather Bureau.
It is the first time in 50 years that Taiwan has issued warnings for two such storms together.
“Even though Haitang is gradually weakening, it is expected to bring heavy rain in central and southern Taiwan from tonight to tomorrow and we urge people to be on guard,” said forecaster Lin Ting-i.
The storm was 50 kilometres northwest of Eluanbi, the southernmost tip of the island, at 6 pm (1000 GMT).
More than 12,000 people have been evacuated since Saturday, with nearly 9,000 soldiers deployed for disaster relief.
Most train services were suspended and around 500 domestic and international flights cancelled or delayed during the weekend.
At least 111 people were injured, mostly by falling objects or car accidents. — AFP
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