14 Dead and 124 Missing in Taiwan After Barrier Lake Bursts

At least 14 people have died after a decades-old lake barrier burst in eastern Taiwan, officials confirmed on Wednesday. The disaster followed Super Typhoon Ragasa, which pounded the island with torrential rain.

The barrier lake in Hualien County collapsed on Tuesday, washing away a bridge and sweeping through a town with thick mud and sludge, leaving a path of destruction.

“It was like a volcano erupting… the muddy floodwaters came roaring straight into the first floor of my house,” said Hsu Cheng-hsiung, 55, a neighbourhood leader in Kuang Fu township.

Lee Kuan-ting, a Hualien County Government press official, reported 14 fatalities and 18 injuries, while the National Fire Agency stated that 124 people remain missing.

“It was a disaster movie,” said local resident Yen Shau, 31. He recounted that just an hour before the lake burst, many locals were still shopping at supermarkets and grocery stores.
“Within minutes, the water had risen to halfway up the first floor,” he added.

Residents described sleepless nights and ongoing recovery efforts. Hsu was seen shovelling thick mud from his home the following day.

“The mud was just too deep, too deep to dig out,” he explained.

Footage released by the fire agency showed flooded streets, half-submerged cars, and uprooted trees, highlighting the scale of the destruction.

Across Taiwan, more than 7,600 people were evacuated due to Typhoon Ragasa. The island is frequently affected by tropical storms from July to October, with Hualien among the most vulnerable areas.

Earlier in July, Typhoon Danas caused two deaths and hundreds of injuries, dumping over 50 centimetres of rain across southern Taiwan over a weekend.

The repeated impact of tropical storms underscores Taiwan’s ongoing vulnerability to extreme weather events, exacerbated by ageing infrastructure such as the now-collapsed barrier lake.

This tragedy highlights the urgent need for modernisation of flood control systems and enhanced disaster preparedness across the island.