6 dead, missing in typhoon

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A pedestrian falls down during strong winds brought by typhoon Morakot in Taipei. --PHOTO: REUTERS

A woman is helped by rescuers in floodwater in Linbian. --PHOTO: AFP
It was expected to hit southern China late Saturday or early Sunday. --PHOTO: REUTERS

The Straits Times
http://www.straitstimes.com

Aug 8, 2009

TAIPEI - TYPHOON Morakot slammed into Taiwan overnight, flooding villages, cutting power lines and leaving at least six people dead or missing, officials and media reported Saturday.

Separately, rescuers were searching for some 10 sailors lost in rough seas off Hainan Island in southern China as Tropical Storm Goni approached.

Morakot hit Taiwan late Friday but by 2pm Saturday had traversed the island and weakened to a tropical storm in the Taiwan Strait.

It was expected to hit southern China late Saturday or early Sunday. Morakot had smashed into the northern Philippines early Friday, triggering floods and landslides that killed at least 12 people.

Morakot dumped up to 1,651 millimeters of rain on parts of southern and eastern Taiwan on Friday and Saturday, leaving villages in Taitung, Pingtung and Kaohsiung counties partially submerged.

A 67-year-old woman died late Friday when she drove her motorcycle into a ditch during heavy rain in Kaohsiung in the south, the National Fire Agency said in a statement posted on its Web site.

The Apple Daily newspaper said a 47-year-old man slammed his car into a train in torrential rain in eastern Yilan county late Friday and died on the spot. The newspaper did not provide a source and local authorities could not immediately confirm the report.

Another five people were missing and feared dead, the National Fire Agency said. Two were fishermen whose boat capsized off the coast of Pingtung county in the south, the agency said.

One man fell into the sea in eastern Taitung county and a 50-year-old woman fell into a river in Kaohsiung, the agency said.

A villager, also in Taitung, set off on a fishing expedition early Friday as the storm approached the island but no one has been able to contact him since, it said. It did not provide any more details.

The agency said at least 17 people were injured in the storm.