Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou estimated on Friday that more than 500 people had died in flooding and mudslides caused by Typhoon Morakot.
A man moves past a destroyed bridge along cables slung by rescuers above a destroyed bridge in the village of Xinkai, Kaohsiung of Taiwan, August 12, 2009. The village was hit by debris flow caused by typhoon Morakot and casualties was estimated at at least 32. [CFP]
But it was now unlikely that anyone trapped since Monday in the landslide had survived.
The typhoon has knocked out 34 bridges and severed 253 segments of road in Taiwan, with repairs expected to take up to three years in the worst spots, the transportation authority said.
In Cishan, a storm-ravaged town of 41,000, both road bridges had collapsed, smashing houses and taking down cars. Residents jammed a footbridge which remained standing.
Rescuers used earth movers to clear mud from roads as hundreds of people cleaned homes or storefronts, heaving out water-logged possessions.
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