Heavy rainfall brings floods to greater Taipei, Taiwan with 4 inches of rain in an hour

Flooding in Taipei

Thunderstorms brought heavy rain to the greater Taipei area Sunday afternoon, causing flash floods in parts of the metropolises, as local firefighters, policemen and other officials work in emergency centers to cope with the situation.

Gongguan, famous for its night market and proximity to National Taiwan University, recorded 105 millimeters of rainfall in an hour from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., according to the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) data.

Daan, Xinyi, and Wenshan districts in Taipei and Xindian, Yonghe, and Zhonghe districts in New Taipei have experienced heavy rain, meaning more than 50mm of rainfall in 24 hours, according to the bureau.

One of the exits at Gongguan MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) station was temporarily closed due to flooding concerns. The operation of Taipei Metro has been running normal as usual and has not been affected by the heavy rain, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp. said.

In Taichung in central Taiwan, one man on a sand bar in the Dajia River was stranded by rising water and rescued by firefighters, it is suspected that another man is missing and rescuers are currently searching for him.

Due to the severe weather conditions, a flight scheduled to land in the Taipei Songshan Airport was redirected to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

Water pumping teams have been sent to flooded neighborhoods and as the thunderstorms have begun moving northward, the flooding is to gradually recede, according to the Taipei Public Works Department.