News
Typhoon Koinu damage reports
More than 27,000 households islandwide were without power as of Friday morning, according to Taiwan Power Company (Taipower). Over one third of them are in Pingtung County, while some 8,000 are in Chiayi and 4,500 in Taitung. The state-run company says 390,000 households lost power at one point during the past two days when Typhoon Koinu hit southern Taiwan.
While the typhoon has passed over Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) says the typhoon's outer bands can still bring torrential rain to Taitung today and heavy rain to Yi-lan, Hualian and Pingtung. Taitung's Beinan Township has already had an accumulated rainfall of some 430 millimetres over the past 31 hours.
Meanwhile the Central Emergency Operation Center has reported one death and 304 injured due to the typhoon. It has also received nearly 2,900 reports related to the typhoon, and 1,200 of them were about trees fallen on roads, and 730 were related to damaged infrastructure. 230 international and domestic flights were cancelled, and railway and highway transportation were also seriously affected by the typhoon.
Chiayi County officials say as of noon today, 10 people in the area have been injured by falling debris or in other accidents related to gusts of wind. Officials say several local schools have reported roofs being blown off, metal gates twisted off rails, or fallen lights. They estimate the damage to be near NT$1 million.
Meanwhile the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corporation announced that light-rail services will remain halted through this afternoon until 18:00. The corporation says strong winds have exceeded limits for safe operations, and the KRTC will make another announcement at 4pm to say if services will resume this evening. The city's metro services are continuing today, but trips have been limited to one train every 10 minutes. Some ferry services, and YouBike services in the city are halted for today.
Vegetable prices are today slightly lower at NT$44.1 per kilogram on average at the Taipei Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market. The Agriculture and Food Agency's Deputy Director, Yao Zhi-wang confirmed that the typhoon has had limited effect on local areas, allowing for normal vegetable supplies to the north. Leafy vegetables saw a minor price increase, reaching NT$37.7 per kilogram. Officials will continue monitoring for potential agricultural losses.
