Taiwan mudslide hundreds 'alive'

[jannyk]

Source: BBC

About 700 people missing in southern Taiwan after Typhoon Morakot have been found alive, say army officials. People from several villages are said to have made it to higher ground before mud and rock engulfed their homes.

Among the survivors found by rescue teams are 200 from Hsiaolin village, reports the Taiwan Central News Agency. Frantic rescue efforts have been ongoing in Hsiaolin and surrounding villages since the weekend to find hundreds of people thought missing.

The BBC's Cindy Sui at Chishan in rural Taiwan, the centre of the rescue effort, says the authorities fear that hundreds more could still be trapped.

In Hsiaolin alone, the residents of 100 households are unaccounted for and thought to be possibly buried.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8196543.stm

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Yes, there are still many missing, but they were not expecting to find as many alive.

[1620rock]

1. Good news, I used to live there. Beautiful island, wonderful people.

[earcandle]

2. Hope the others get out eventually. Maybe tunneling their way through!

[deoxyribonuclease]

3. My grandmother evacuated her village before the typhoon hit

One of my uncles in the southern metropolis, Kaohsiung, is sheltering her. Although my family members in Taipei are safe (albeit a bit soggy), I haven't heard from any in the southern part of the island.

[sofa king]

4. I hope your family members are okay.

It's no fun having to sit around wondering about that sort of thing.