TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After heavy rains started pelting the country, a video surfaced on Thursday (April 20) showing a college student knocked over by floodwaters while trying to ford a zebra crossing in Taichung City, while a second video showed two students unable to move forward on their scooters through the raging water.
A Facebook group Breaking News Commune (爆料公社) member posted the video showing a pedestrian crossing at Section 6, Taiwan Boulevard, outside Hungkuang University in Taichung City's Shalu District. A female college student carrying a clear umbrella tries to cross the street as she wades in water that has risen over her ankles.
However, such is the force of the torrent that she is pushed forward. Although a campus security guard tries to grab her hand, she is just out of reach, and starts to tumble down the sloping roadway.
Clinging to her plastic umbrella, the woman manages to sit up briefly while another security guard reaches to her, but the current is too strong, and she falls onto the pavement. At the end of the clip, the woman manages to sit upright but is still surrounded by floodwaters.
The woman was later able to safely make it to the other side of the street, according to an ETtoday report.
In a second video, two students riding scooters are stranded. One student in a pink poncho revs a red scooter but is stuck due to the intensity of the oncoming waters.
A crossing guard tries to help pull the scooter along, but it barely budges. To the right, another security guard helps a student in a light green poncho push a gray scooter forward, while to the far left a student in a blue poncho struggles on a black scooter.
Hungkuang University said a heavy downpour at around 8 a.m. overwhelmed the drainage system on Taiwan Boulevard. It added, campus security guards were able to help three students cross the street with their stalled scooters. Approximately 10 minutes later, the rain lessened and the water receded.
