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At least 14 people have died and 152 remained lost after the natural dam in Hualien Taiwan Regency collapsed, releasing mudflows and flood water that hit cities after the Typhoon Super Ragasa, officials said on Wednesday.
Lake Baring, formed a few decades ago by landslides that created natural dams in the Mountains of East Taiwan, exploded on Tuesday after the days of intense rainfall. The resulting flood removed the bridge and sent mud walls and water crashing into the city of Kuang Fu nearby.
“It feels like a volcano that erupted … a muddy flood came directly to the first floor of my house,” said Hsu Cheng-Hsiung, 55, a local environment leader, describing the destruction of AFP.
According to Lee Kuan-Ting, a spokesman for the Hualien Regency Government, 14 people were confirmed to have died and 18 others were injured.
Premier Cho Jung-tai visited the disaster zone on Wednesday and expressed deep concern over the tragedy. He also questioned why the evacuation order was not fully applied before the disaster.
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“As for 14 people who lost their lives, we must find out why the evacuation order was not carried out in an affected area, which led to such tragedies,” he said. “We still have more than one hundred people missing, and this is our biggest concern today.”
The Taiwan National Fire Agency confirmed that at least 152 people are currently not calculated in all hulesien and other affected areas.
Residents describe the scenes of chaos and fear in the moment -when before and after the lake collapsed.
“That is a disaster film,” said Yen Shau, 31, who remembered how only one hour before the flood hit, locals shop as usual. “In a few minutes, the water has risen half on the first floor,” he said.
Shaken and exhausted, Yen said he could not sleep on Tuesday night, worried that the flood would return.
> “Mud is too deep, too deep to be explored,” he said when he worked to clean the mud from his home the next morning.
Video footage released by the emergency crew shows the paths sinking in thick mud, vehicles almost under water, and trees are torn from their roots.
Typhoon Ragasa triggered broad evacuation throughout Taiwan, with more than 7,600 people moved due to the impact of the storm. Typhoon, one of the strongest in recent years, has added seasonal tension on the island, which regularly faces tropical storms between July and October.
Previously this summer, Typhoon Danas struck Taiwan in early July, killing two people and injuring hundreds after throwing more than 50 centimeters of rain in the southern island on one weekend.
Authorities continue to search and rescue efforts in the Hualien and surrounding areas, when the nation is lamenting lives and caring for a potential earthquake from disaster.
