At Least 14 People Killed and 30 Missing After Natural Dam Collapse in Eastern Taiwan
At least 14 people have been killed and 30 others are missing after a natural dam collapsed on a river in eastern Taiwan, following the passage of Cyclone Ragasa. Local authorities confirmed the death toll on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for the Hualien County government stated that "as of 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, 14 deaths and 18 injuries had been confirmed." The spokesperson added that "the number of missing people, according to the National Fire Agency, was 30 as of last night, and our teams are continuing the search efforts."
The heavy rainfall accompanying Cyclone Ragasa, one of the strongest in years, triggered a landslide that caused the collapse of a natural dam. The dam was holding back the waters of a lake formed upstream of the Matayan River. The collapse of the dam led to the flooding of the lake, causing a bridge to collapse, inundating a neighboring village, and trapping hundreds of people, according to authorities.
The cyclone also hit the coast of Hong Kong early on Wednesday morning, paralyzing life in southern China. It left a trail of destruction in its wake, with strong winds waking up Hong Kong residents in the early hours of the day. The wind tore off parts of a pedestrian bridge roof and uprooted trees throughout the city. Hospitals treated around 13 injured people.
Note: I translated the article from French to English, maintaining the original content and format, and incorporated the provided Markdown headers.
