Three Dead, Thousands Evacuated as Typhoon Gaemi Tears Through Taiwan

TaiwanPlus News

At least three people have died and thousands have been washed out of their homes after Typhoon Gaemi tore through Taiwan. Areas across the country are experiencing severe flooding.

Transcript

00:00Streets turn into rivers, as rains continue to pound Taiwan in the wake of the strongest

00:09typhoon to hit the country in eight years. In the southern county of Jiayi, residents

00:15evacuate on boats as waters continue to rise.

00:33Pumps work overtime to try and clear the floodwaters, but the rains keep coming.

00:41In the south, a cargo ship beached by the storm. The entire crew stranded on board,

00:47but unharmed. It was one of four commercial ships affected by the typhoon.

00:54In Taiwan's northeast, floodwaters reach as high as two metres. And in the eastern

00:59county of Hualien, an area no stranger to natural disasters, markets are torn apart

01:05by strong winds. And in one piece of chilling footage, strong

01:09winds tear off the roof of a building, sending debris crashing into the street below, killing

01:14a woman in the backseat of a car, and seriously injuring her son.

01:21No part of the country has escaped the impact of Typhoon Kemi, with severe flooding and

01:27damage reported in cities and counties across Taiwan.

01:31Recovery efforts are underway. The government has sent rescue and military personnel to

01:36those in the most hard-hit areas. And authorities are still warning people to be careful of

01:42heavy rains on the periphery of the typhoon.

02:05Taiwan seems to have taken the brunt of the storm, now weakened as it strikes southeastern

02:10China. Other than a few fallen trees and motorcycles,

02:15the capital Taipei seems to have avoided the worst of the storm.

02:18And as the rains and floodwaters subside across the country, clean-up efforts can begin, and

02:24the true extent of the damage will be revealed. Lucy Lee and Rhys Ayres in Taipei for Taiwan

02:30Plus.

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