A DEADLY TRAGEDY IN THE FACE OF TAIWAN
THE DEADLY TRAGEDY IN TAIWAN HAS CLAIMED 14 LIVES AND 124 MISSING.
On the night of September 20, 2025, a powerful storm system swept across Taiwan, bringing with it relentless rain, fierce winds, and devastating landslides that claimed the lives of 14 people. The storm, which began intensifying around 6:00 PM local time, made its most destructive impact between 10:00 PM and midnight, particularly in the mountainous regions of Nantou, Hualien, and Taichung. Authorities reported that saturated soil from days of previous rainfall contributed to sudden, large-scale landslides that buried homes and roads with little warning. In a remote village in Nantou County, an entire hillside gave way, destroying four homes and killing seven residents, including two children. In Hualien, four hikers were caught in a mudslide while attempting to return from a popular trail before sunset; all were later found deceased by rescue teams. Elsewhere, a rescue worker died in Taichung while attempting to reach a stranded family whose vehicle had been swept into a river by floodwaters. Two additional fatalities occurred when a roadside shelter collapsed under the weight of debris in Miaoli County. Emergency services were immediately deployed, but blocked roads and dangerous weather delayed response times. By the morning of September 21, Taiwan’s National Fire Agency confirmed the total of 14 storm-related deaths, with dozens more injured or displaced. President Tsai Ing-wen issued a national statement of mourning and urged immediate evaluations of infrastructure and disaster response systems, warning that climate extremes are becoming more frequent and unpredictable. The tragedy has sparked a renewed national conversation on preparedness in the face of intensifying weather events linked to climate change.
