Typhoon death toll rises to 12 in Taiwan

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-17 23:20

TAIPEI -- Typhoon Sinlaku, the 13th tropical storm in China this year, has left 12 dead and 10 missing in Taiwan, according to a local tally on Wednesday by a disaster prevention organization.

In total, 20 people were injured after the typhoon made landfall on the island over the weekend, it said.

The bodies of two dead men were respectively found in the Tachia River and Nantou County on Tuesday afternoon. Their identities were yet to be confirmed, local authorities said.

The two were not included in the death toll.

Local authorities on Wednesday put the island's total agricultural loss at 714 million New Taiwan dollars (22.2 million US dollars). Yilan and Nantou counties were the hit hardest, respectively, suffering a loss of 170 million New Taiwan dollars each in the agriculture sector.

The typhoon hit northeastern Taiwan at 1:50 a.m. on Sunday. The storm has caused a power outages, cuts to water supplies and a work suspension on the island.

Sinlaku was downgraded in Taiwan on Sunday and was on track to reach southern Japan over the next two days.