As Typhoon Ragasa neared Taiwan, rain pounded a little-known lake in the upper reaches of a mountain range on the island’s eastern coast.
After nearly two days, the lake burst through its dams on Tuesday afternoon, unleashing torrents of water that careered down the side of a mountain and inundated the rural town of Guangfu, home to 10,000 people.
By Wednesday, at least 17 people had been confirmed dead and 17 others were missing.
Residents of Guangfu, a picturesque tourist destination, were left grappling with the damage wrought by Ragasa, the most powerful storm in the world so far this year. Many people who live in Guangfu are older adults.
Business owners in the town tried to salvage their properties, many of which were covered in mud and damaged by the torrents of water. The owner of one bookstore said that water had flooded in so fast that the glass windows of her shop were smashed.
Other residents said that flooded ground floors forced them to take refuge on higher levels. Rescuers had to break the doors and windows of some buildings to reach those trapped inside.
Guangfu, which is part of Hualien County, is in a less-populated part of Taiwan that is known for agriculture and tourism. Officials said that more than 700 acres of farmland for rice, corn and other crops had been submerged, which is expected to cause millions of dollars in losses in Guangfu and nearby towns.
“The water came too quickly,” said Tseng Shu-cheng, 70, the owner of a hostel that is near where most of the casualties were found. She said that she had waited on the second floor of her building all Tuesday night because she had been too afraid to come out, even as the waters receded. “I have never in my life seen such terrifying scenes,” she added.
Since Tuesday, social media platforms have been flooded with messages from people trying to find missing family members. Hundreds of firefighters and soldiers dispatched to Guangfu have gone door to door to check for trapped residents.
One group of siblings returned home to find that their 90-year-old mother had died in her bed during the flooding. Water marks on the bedroom wall rose as high as five feet. They believe their mother was unable to escape in time.
Typhoon Ragasa did not make landfall in Taiwan but still wrought havoc on the island. Shun Chi-ming, the former director of the Hong Kong Observatory, a government weather monitor, said rising temperatures in the sea and atmosphere caused heavier rainfall during typhoons. That is why the Hualien area experienced “such severe damage and loss of life” even though Ragasa was relatively far away, he said.
Residents said that cars and refrigerators had floated away as the floodwaters rose. One of the town’s main bridges was also destroyed.
Officials said that an evacuation notice for residents had been issued at 7 a.m. on Tuesday. However, not all residents left.
Taiwan’s premier, Cho Jung-tai, visited Guangfu on Wednesday and said that the government would investigate why evacuations “were not carried out in areas where they were requested.”
At a makeshift shelter on Wednesday, government officials suddenly began shouting for residents to go to a higher floor because they feared another wave of flooding. People rushed to get upstairs and helped carry those who could not walk. In the chaos, a woman was injured.
Elsewhere, trucks kept pulling up in front of schools, churches and day care centers that had been turned into temporary shelters to deliver donated supplies like food, water and diapers.
As of Wednesday, the heaviest rains had stopped. Left behind was damage, heartbreak, and, Guangfu residents said, a long road to recovery.
Tiffany May in Hong Kong and Xinyun Wu in Taipei contributed reporting.
Lily Kuo is a China correspondent for The Times, based in Taipei.
Amy Chang Chien is a reporter and researcher for The Times in Taipei, covering Taiwan and China.
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