Taiwan Slowly Recovers From Typhoon Kong-Rey

TaiwanPlus News

As roads are cleared and power restored, some communities are still cut off and in need of supplies in the wake of Typhoon Kong-rey. Amid efforts to clear roadways, aid packages are being airlifted to stranded villagers.

Transcript

00:00A stretch of mountain highway reopens after days of work to clear up mud, boulders and

00:04fallen trees.

00:06Typhoon Kongrei hit Taiwan's mountains hard, with driving rain triggering landslides that

00:10buried roads.

00:12But bit by bit, work crews have dug their way through the muck and rubble on blocked

00:16sections like this.

00:17After testing the road this morning, we confirmed that the road is safe, and from 3 p.m. today

00:22to 12 p.m., we will start to open the road.

00:25Slowly, electricity is coming back to the mountains, too, as crews repair storm damage.

00:30Still, as late as Sunday, over 1,000 households in the rugged heart of the island were still

00:35without power, and officials say there's a lot of work to be done.

00:50But in some places, recovery is still a long way off.

00:54In the mountains of eastern Taiwan's Hualien County, around 50 people are still cut off,

00:58with the only road in or out blocked by rockslides.

01:01Clearing this road is expected to be challenging, and officials aren't giving an estimate of

01:05how long it could take.

01:07On Sunday, helicopters airdropped 720 kilograms of basic supplies to stranded residents.

01:20Not all stranded people have been so lucky.

01:22The indigenous village of Smangus in the north is also cut off by landslides.

01:26And here, heavy fog has forced helicopters to turn back, their aid undelivered.

01:31A new attempt is slated for Monday, as food and medicine could soon run short for the

01:35150 residents.

01:37For communities like this, the scars of Typhoon Kongrei will last long after the weather is cleared.

01:43Klein Wong and John Van Triest for Taiwan Plus.

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