Rescue efforts continue following Typhoon Morakot
- 00:00:40
- ITN
Rescue efforts continue following Typhoon Morakot
Hundreds of Taiwanese villagers have fled their homes just minutes before a lake caused by flooding from Typhoon Morakot burst. Meanwhile, yet more survivors are being airlifted to safety from remote villages devastated by mudslides. The military has sent 4,000 new troops to join another 16,000 soldiers already working to save those stranded in the island's south. Rescue efforts have been slow because many bridges and roads to hard-hit areas have collapsed or been washed away. The weather has now calmed, and while army helicopters continue to ferry scores of survivors to improvised landing strips, anxious relatives wait for news on the fate of their loved ones. Typhoon Morakot dumped more than 80 inches (2 metres) of rain and unleashed the worst floods the island has seen in 50 years. The official death toll in Taiwan stands at 108, with 61 listed as missing. But several hundred more remain unaccounted for and are feared buried in the mudslides. The storm also killed 22 people in the Philippines and eight in China.
ITN | August 13, 2009
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