Typhoon Kong-Rey Cleanup Gets Underway Across Taiwan

TaiwanPlus News

As Typhoon Kong-rey moves on from Taiwan, cleanup crews are hard at work getting the country back to normal as most of the population goes back to school and work.

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00:00Taiwan has woken up to fallen trees, ruined crops, flooding and landslides after Typhoon

00:05Kongrei vented its fury on the country, leaving two people dead and hundreds injured.

00:10While the worst is over, the massive job of cleaning up has only just begun.

00:14In the north, teams are working to clear blocked roads and rail lines of fallen trees.

00:19Along the east coast, hundreds of people are trying to return home after landslides in

00:23undated mountainous areas.

00:25While in southeastern Taitung, farmers are grappling with heavy losses after taking a

00:30direct hit from the typhoon, the strongest to hit Taiwan in 30 years.

00:33We'll go live to Taitung in a moment.

00:35We'll begin our coverage with a report from John Ventriest about recovery efforts across

00:39the country.

00:40On Taiwan's east coast, the scars of Typhoon Kongrei are everywhere.

00:46This middle school in the town of Yuli was among the many damaged buildings.

00:51And it wasn't just the wind.

01:00Multiple rockslides blocked off a major highway down the east coast, and it will be some time

01:04before they can be cleared.

01:14It isn't all bad news though.

01:16A Czech couple that went missing while on a hiking holiday managed to get an SOS out

01:20as the storm overtook them.

01:22After a blustery night sheltering in place, a helicopter managed to get them out of the

01:25eastern mountains where they'd gotten stranded.

01:28Elsewhere in the country, things are slowly returning to normal.

01:33After a night of diversions, cancellations and dramatic failed landings like this one,

01:37Taoyuan Airport, the country's main gateway, is back to running as usual.

01:42And while some areas have cancelled classes and work for a second day, much of the country

01:46is back to school or the office.

01:49But there are signs Kongrei won't be forgotten soon.

01:52Even here in the capital Taipei, where damage has been relatively light, there are fallen

01:56trees and debris everywhere.

01:58Work crews have been at it since dawn trying to bring life here back to normal, but as

02:01the state of this downtown park suggests, there's a lot of work left to be done.

02:05Devin Tsai and John Ventriest in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.

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