Super Typhoon Ragasa leaves 14 dead, 18 injured in Taiwan

(ECNS)-- Super Typhoon Ragasa has left 14 people dead, 18 injured and several others missing in Taiwan island, local disaster response center said Wednesday morning. More than 100 people remain stranded, awaiting rescue, Xinhua reported.

Ragasa made landfall on Tuesday, lashing Taitung, Hengchun Peninsula and Pingtung before moving away around noon on Sept. 23. The storm's peripheral circulation continued to bring heavy downpours to eastern, northern and southern coastal regions.

As of Tuesday, 7,904 people had been evacuated, including over 5,300 in Hualien and 1,800 in Kaohsiung. In Hualien, flooding from an overflowing barrier lake destroyed bridges and forced the evacuation of about 1,800 households. Mountainous areas in Pingtung also saw evacuations due to landslides and road damage.

The typhoon knocked out power to more than 14,000 households across the island, with about 2,000 still awaiting restoration. Water supply disruptions affected some 4,300 households. Authorities reported 51 inundated sites, with most flooding concentrated in Hualien.

The meteorological department continued to issue heavy rain alerts on Wednesday, forecasting torrential downpours in Hualien, Taitung, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and other areas.

（By Evelyn）