When the floodwater came rushing down from the mountain, Awa and her husband tried to get to their car – but it was already too late.
It was like a river outside and cars were floating. Everything started drifting, said the 42-year-old bookstore owner. The couple sought refuge on the second floor of their shop in Guangfu township, trying to save as many books as possible.
I'm still in shock. I just can't imagine how this could have happened, she said.
Like many Taiwanese, Awa is reeling from the unexpected deadly destruction caused by Super Typhoon Ragasa, even though the island was not in the direct path of the strongest storm the world has seen this year.
The breaching of a barrier lake – formed after landslides triggered by another typhoon blocked rivers in a remote mountain valley in July – is the main cause of extensive damage in the eastern county of Hualien, said Huang Chao Chin, the deputy commander of Taiwan's Central Emergency Operation Centre.
People who were in the path of the deadly wall of water that swept down the mountainside stood little chance as it washed away a bridge, uprooted trees and submerged vehicles.
Many of those who died were elderly, trapped by water surging into their homes.
The Matai'an Creek barrier lake is about 11km (7 miles) away from downstream communities, holding approximately 91 million tonnes of water—enough to fill 36,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. About three-quarters of that water was suddenly released after the lake burst its banks on Tuesday, killing at least 14 people and injuring 32 others. Fourty-six people are still unaccounted for.
Emergency services reported river depths in Guangfu rose as high as the second floor of houses in some places and were about one-floor deep in the town center.
Survivors in Guangfu report that there were no immediate warnings from the authorities before disaster struck, although the academic community had alerted local officials to the potential dangers of the lake overflowing.
Failing to evacuate residents properly is one of the factors why the disaster became so severe, said Professor Chen, a geological expert.
Awa and her husband at the bookstore managed to escape in time, but many were not so fortunate. A tearful Ms. Shih recounted how her 87-year-old mother was killed, her body buried in debris at home.
As residents clean up the mud and debris left in the wake of this sudden flood, they are left to grapple with extensive destruction and the heartache of lost friends and family.
