Tropical Storm Nari Hits Taiwan; 10 Killed

Tropical Storm Nari slammed into northern Taiwan today, triggering mudslides and flash flooding that killed 10 people.

At least seven others were missing as sheets of rain flooded homes around Taipei, the capital, emergency officials said.

Television reports showed rivers of muddy water flowing down mountainsides in the port city of Keelung, coating streets with a thick layer of yellowish mud.

More than 820,000 homes in the Taipei area were without power, and 1,000 people were evacuated from their houses, officials said. Flood waters swallowed up the first floors of some homes, and many of Taipei’s main streets were impassable.

Nari lost strength early today and was downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm. However, the slow-moving storm still threatened to linger over the northern half of Taiwan for hours, forecasters said. In the Yangmingshan resort area outside Taipei, 32 inches of rain had fallen in the preceding 24 hours, officials said.

The fatalities included seven people who drowned when flood water came crashing into basements and first-floor apartments, officials said. Mudslides killed three others.

Anticipating the danger, officials on Sunday canceled schools, shut down the stock market and urged companies to close their offices.

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

Taiwan is a mountainous island, and with about 23 million residents, it is one of the most densely populated places in the world. Many Taiwanese live or farm on mountain slopes that are prone to mudslides when soaked with typhoon rains.

For weeks, Nari has been whirling in the Pacific Ocean north of Taiwan, making erratic turns toward and away from the island.