Typhoon Soudelor caused agricultural losses across Taiwan, China exceeding 1.5 billion yuan, with Yunlin suffering the worst damage

Typhoon Soudelor battered Taiwan, China, and according to statistics from the Council of Agriculture, as of 6 p.m. today, agricultural losses exceeded 1.55 billion yuan, with Yunlin County suffering losses of up to 250 million yuan, the highest in all of Taiwan, China. The main crops affected were bananas, pomelo, bamboo shoots, papaya and guava, among which the damaged area of pomelo across Taiwan, China soared past 40%. As for Taoyuan City's Fuxing Township and New Taipei City's Wulai District, which suffered the most severe debris flow scouring this time, the damage was mainly to homes and roads, and no large-scale crop damage has been reported so far. (Image source / Facebook of Yunlin County Deputy Magistrate Chang Huang-chen)

As for the Luofu Heliu tribe in Taoyuan City's Fuxing Township, which was buried by debris flow, residents had evacuated the area in advance, so fortunately there were no casualties. The nearby crop damage was mainly related to the fierce winds brought by Soudelor. Wu, the section chief of the sightseeing orchard production and marketing group at the Fuxing Township Farmers' Association, said that more than one hectare of corn in his own fields was entirely "taken away" by the typhoon, and about 100 citrus and sweet persimmon trees belonging to the group's members were also blown down, leaning this way and that.

As for the Wulai area, where road rescue work is still ongoing even now, Wu Mei-mao, founder of Taiwan Original Flavor, who only ventured in this morning from the Guishan checkpoint, said, "A lot of roadbeds have been hollowed out, and the ground on Wulai Old Street is all yellow mud, but fortunately most of the farming friends I know are safe and sound."

According to Wu Mei-mao's understanding, the crop conditions in Zhongzhi Village, which is closer to the urban area, are still within expectations. "Because most of the crops this time were not hit by debris flow, the main disaster was road collapse leading to the inability to communicate with the outside, and most farming friends are already very fortunate to be able to walk out of the trapped mountains, but the Fushan tribe deeper in the mountains still cannot be reached, so we still cannot understand the situation inside."

According to statistics from the Council of Agriculture, apart from Yilan County and Hualien County, which have already publicly announced the processing of cash assistance, Yunlin County and Tainan City reached the cash assistance standard today. The Council of Agriculture stated that after joint on-site inspections and confirmation with local governments, it can be publicly announced for processing. Areas where low-interest loans can be processed include Hualien County, Yilan County, Tainan City, Yunlin County, New Taipei City and Kaohsiung City, while Pingtung County, after on-site joint inspections by the Council of Agriculture and the local government, can be publicly announced for processing in accordance with regulations.