Typhoon leaves 14 dead, 18 injured in Taiwan

Taipei: Typhoon Ragasa left 14 dead and 18 injured in Taiwan as of 6 a.m. on Wednesday, said local authorities.

About 100 people remain trapped awaiting rescue, according to the island’s emergency operation centre.

The typhoon’s outer circulation continues to batter Taiwan’s eastern, northern and southern coastal areas, bringing heavy rainfall. On Tuesday afternoon, a dam at a barrier lake in Hualien County overflowed, triggering flooding, Xinhua news agency reported.

Several nations have issued alerts in view of Typhoon Ragasa.

In China’s Guangdong Province, as the storm approached, classes, production, public transportation and business operations were suspended.

According to the flood, drought and typhoon control headquarters in Zhanjiang City, schools halted classes at around 3 p.m. Tuesday as a precaution. Starting at 3 p.m. Wednesday, work, production, public transport and business operations across Zhanjiang will also be suspended.

Noting that departments handling water, power, gas, communications, medical care and emergency response will remain operational, local authorities urged all other activities that could pose safety risks or endanger personnel to be suspended due to the typhoon.

Typhoon Ragasa, the 18th typhoon of the year, entered the South China Sea late Monday and was located about 170 km southeast of Yangjiang City at 10 a.m. Wednesday. It is forecast to move northwest at 20 km per hour and make landfall on Wednesday evening along the coastal areas between Yangjiang and Zhanjiang.

China’s National Meteorological Centre maintained an orange alert, the second-highest in China’s four-tier colour-coded weather warning system, on Wednesday as the typhoon is expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds.

Super typhoon Ragasa also passed within 100 km of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), causing gale and heavy rain, said Macao’s meteorological bureau, which hoisted the No. 10 tropical cyclone signal at 5:30 a.m. local time.

The Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau noted that the wind in Macao has reached hurricane-level force 12 and will sustain in the next few hours, and therefore, the top-level typhoon signal will be in effect for a period of time.

–IANS