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Death toll of Typhoon in Taiwan may over 500

2009-08-15 13:13 BJT

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The death toll from Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan could reach more than 500. The latest reports say about 300 people are feared dead in Hsiao Lin village in southern Taiwan. They were believed buried in mudslides a week a ago.

More than 300 families used to live in Hsiao Lin. But now, only two damaged houses remain. The whole village -- hundreds people -- was covered by a sea of mud, 16 meters deep. With rescue work into the eighth day, the chances of finding anyone alive are slim. Relatives are beginning to accept the worst. They now hope to build a memorial park. Out of the 650 people who lived in the village only 43 people were rescued. The local Magistrate holds out hope that some were in other communities for work or study. And for those rescued -- the nightmare continues.

Hsiao Lin Village Survivor, said, "I heard them calling landslide. Then all of a sudden, the houses of the entire village were pushed to the other side."

"At first, we heard 'peng, peng, peng', and then, the sky darkened. A trench digger was washed some 500 meters away."

"It was like a atomic bomb. Stones were flying all over the sky. When we looked back, our village was gone."

The place where Hsiao Lin village once stood is now a place of sadness and desperation.

And elsewhere in Taiwan, rescue and relief work continues.