Taiwan cleans up as Typhoon Kong-rey leaves two dead

Workers clear debris after storm triggered floods, landslides and power outages

TAIPEI - Workers cleared fallen trees and shop owners swept up debris in Taiwan on Nov 1 after one of the biggest typhoons to hit the island in decades claimed at least two lives.

Typhoon Kong-rey was packing wind speeds of 184kmh when it slammed into eastern Taiwan on Oct 31, uprooting trees, triggering floods and landslides, and knocking out power as it swept over the island.

A 48-year-old motorcyclist was killed by a falling power pole in Taipei on Oct 31, taking the storm's death toll to two, with 580 injured, the National Fire Agency said.

The other fatality was a 56-year-old foreigner who died from her injuries after the small truck she was in was struck by a falling tree in Nantou county early on Oct 31, reported Focus Taiwan.

A search was also under way for four people who went hunting in the mountains of central Taiwan on Oct 30 and have not been heard from since that evening.

Two Czech hikers who were trapped in the Taroko Gorge in Hualien county during the storm were rescued on Nov 1.

The typhoon weakened to a severe tropical storm as it moved across the Taiwan Strait towards China on Nov 1, the Central Weather Administration said.

In Taiwan, life was returning to normal, with offices, restaurants and schools reopening.

But about 78,500 households were still without power, and 191 domestic and international flights were cancelled.

Dozens of ferry services and some train lines remained suspended.