Taiwanese clean up after tropical storm kills 66

Taiwan's worst tropical storm in decades has moved away from the island, leaving 66 people dead in its wake.

Taiwan's worst tropical storm in decades has moved away from the island, leaving 66 people dead in its wake.

Tropical storm Nari dumped a record amount of rain during the past two days.

Much of the subway system in the capital, Taipei, was flooded and it could take weeks, or possibly months, to repair the damage.

Many rail commuters were forced to use buses and cars, causing series traffic jams in Taipei.

READ MORE

The United Daily News quoted unidentified officials as saying that repairing the subway's damaged computer equipment and cleaning up the rails could cost up to 10 billion Taiwan dollars (£21 million).

The state-run rail company said it could cost 600 million Taiwan dollars (£12 million) to restore bridges and railroads that were washed away.

Most of the 66 deaths were caused by flooding, landslides or power lines, officials said. Twenty-three people are missing.

Damage to farms, livestock and fisheries hit nearly 700 million Taiwan dollars (£15 million), the Agriculture Council said.

Premier Mr Chang Chun-hsiung has ordered a relief fund of 2.2 billion Taiwan dollars (£45 million) to Taipei, Keelung and Ilan, hard-hit areas in northern Taiwan where homes were destroyed and bridges were washed away.

Nari, named after a Korean flower, hit the island about two months after Typhoon Toraji caused flash flooding and landslides that killed more than 100 people in eastern and central Taiwan.

PA