Nearly 300 people living in remote mountain villages in Taiwan were airlifted to safety on Saturday morning as continued bad weather threatened a fresh wave of mudslides in the district most affected by Typhoon Aere.
Hundreds of rescuers continued to search for survivors and evacuate residents from Wufeng Township in northern Hsinchu county, where several villages were hit by mudslides triggered by the strong winds and heavy rains of Typhoon Aere on Wednesday.
The army has dispatched several mid-sized helicopters, which transport up to 30 people, to the area to speed up the evacuations after the Central Weather Bureau issued a new warning of torrential rain in mountain areas.
In worst-hit Tochang village about ten people who previously refused to leave their homes were ordered to go to Bilang village, which is on higher ground and is considered safe.
About 20 houses in Tochang were toppled by a sudden mudslide on Wednesday.
So far, eight bodies have been removed from the mud but at least 11 other villagers are missing, feared dead.
”We hope to evacuate six villages that are more vulnerable to mudslides before the fog and rain get in here,” said Wufeng official Chiu Hsien-ming.
He estimated there are now fewer than 200 villagers left in the Wufeng area as about 800 have been airlifted to safety since rescue operations started on Thursday.
Typhoon Aere has now claimed at least 13 lives in Taiwan, including a Hong Kong fisherman who died when his boat capsized in rough seas off Taiwan’s northern coast.
Twenty-two others are missing, including three fishermen from Hong Kong and China and one local fisherman.
Aere slammed into the island packing winds of more than 130km per hour on Monday. – Sapa-AFP