At Least Six Dead after Kalmaegi Lashes Taiwan

2008-07-18 17:40:01 [ Big Normal Small ]    　Comment

Typhoon Kalmaegi has left six people dead and several missing after it made landfall near Ilan in northern Taiwan late on Thursday, bringing with it heavy rainfall.

A baby girl was killed after a mudflow buried a house in Kaohsiung County early Friday. Three further bodies were found in other areas of Kaohsiung.

Kalmaegi made landfall at 9:40 p.m. Thursday in Ilan. Precipitations surpassed 400 millimeters in many areas in central and southern Taiwan.

The storm also caused water supply cuts to 670,000 households in Taiwan. Many key roads were damaged and rail services were halted in some areas.

Water as deep as a one-storey building inundated streets in many areas and trapped residents.

The island's agricultural authorities said the agricultural, forestry and animal husbandry losses had exceeded 110 million New Taiwan dollars (about 3.6 million U.S. dollars).

Schools in the worst-hit areas halted classes on Friday.

Kalmaegi weakened into a tropical storm at 2 a.m. Friday and left Taiwan at 7:20 a.m.. It was forecast to strike the coastal areas between the mainland's eastern Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, late on Friday.

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