Heavy rainfall triggered flooding and landslides across southern Taiwan on Sunday (August 3), submerging rural homes and cutting off access to mountain roads, Reuters reports.
More than a year’s worth of rain fell on parts of southern Taiwan over the past week, triggering widespread landslides and flooding that has left four people dead and forced over 5,900 to evacuate.
According to the Central Weather Administration, the island’s mountainous south received more than 2.6 metres (8.5 feet) of rainfall in the last week—surpassing Taiwan’s average annual total of about 2.1 metres (6.9 feet).
Three people are missing and 77 have been injured since late July when a depression and strong southwesterly airstreams began causing flooding and landslides in Taiwan's south, an area vital for the island's agriculture sector.
Rainfall is expected to ease starting Monday (August 4), according to weather authorities, though warnings for landslides and flooding remained in effect for southern mountainous regions.
