TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Typhoon Kong-rey as of 7 a.m. Friday (Nov. 1) has so far resulted in two deaths, 515 injuries, four missing, and 6,917 reports of damage, according to the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC).
Kong-rey swept through Taiwan quickly, making landfall at 1:40 p.m. on Thursday and exiting at 6:40 p.m., per Liberty Times. Across the country, 12,550 personnel, including disaster response teams, volunteer firefighters, and Tzu Chi volunteers were mobilized.
The Nantou County Fire Department received a report at around 11:53 a.m. Thursday about a pickup truck crushed by a fallen tree on Provincial Highway 14A in Renai Township. Two people were inside the vehicle, including a 56-year-old woman, found unresponsive with no vital signs, and a 76-year-old man who sustained minor injuries and could walk on his own.
The woman was taken to the Taichung Veterans General Hospital Puli Branch for emergency treatment at 12:30 p.m. but was pronounced dead at 1:33 p.m.
In Taipei's Neihu District, a tree fell on a power pole on Lane 22, Wende Road, striking a passing 48-year-old scooter rider surnamed Lo (羅). First responders used rescue tools to free him, but he had no vital signs when rescued and was later pronounced dead at Tri-Service General Hospital at around 8:50 p.m.
A 54-year-old man surnamed Chen (陳) in New Taipei died after accidentally falling from the fifth floor to the first while repairing the roof of his home on Zhongzheng Road in Zhonghe District at around 7 p.m. Thursday. His death was not classified as typhoon-related.
Four Indigenous hunters in Nantou County went missing after going fishing and hunting around Kashe Creek on Thursday afternoon. Nantou County requested a helicopter search Thursday night, but adverse weather conditions prevented it from taking off. Ground teams were dispatched Friday morning to search along the Zhuoshe Forest Trail.
Two Czech tourists who went missing after entering Taroko National Park were successfully contacted Thursday afternoon. The pair camped near Yuewang Pavilion overnight to shelter from the wind and rain.
A National Air Service Corps helicopter was dispatched Thursday morning to rescue them, and at around 7:30 a.m., both were safely airlifted off the mountain.
