Typhoon Danas batters Chiayi after making landfall in Budai Township

Typhoon Danas batters Chiayi after making landfall in Budai Township

2025-07-07

Typhoon Danas made landfall around 11:40 p.m. on Sunday night, in Chiayi’s Budai Township and left devastation in its wake. A video footage posted online showed an ambulance that just stopped outside a hospital being blown sideways in the storm. In many areas, signposts and tree trunks were strewn all over. Fortunately, no casualties were reported over this period in the county.
Outside the hospital’s ER, the storm is so strong, an ambulance that just arrived, with emergency lights still on, is blown sideways.

Staff at the hospital stand guard by the main entrance, afraid that the glass door will be blown off too. Typhoon Danas, which caused the scene, made a rare landfall in Chiayi.

Eunice Lin
FTV reporter
Typhoon Danas made landfall in Chiayi’s Budai Township late night July 6. It also battered the downtown area of Chiayi. The path Danas took was quite rare. In official records, only eight typhoons in total made landfall north of Tainan on the west coast.

Local resident
It’s like a great earthquake or war. Really frightening.

In another part of town, Chia-Le-Fu Night Market was also terribly battered. The two pillars at the entrance collapsed, leaving the neon sign hanging between two stands. At the food court, the stands were all left in shambles, with damaged stands and goods scattered all over.

Night market vendor
It was already like this when I came here at 6. It’s the first time I’ve seen the wind blowing things off like this.

Downtown, uprooted tree trunks hit vehicles and broke electric cables. Zhongzheng Park was also devastated, with more than a handful of fallen trees and even a ladder blown up and lodged in the canopy.

Local resident
I’ve never seen such strong wind. Even an entire traffic light collapsed. So scary!

Typhoon Danas’ rare landfall in Chiayi left the county in terrible devastation. Fortunately, no casualties were reported in the county.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#typhoon #naturaldisasters #tainan #temple #extremeweather #typhoondanas #danas #typhoonwatch

丹娜絲颱風中心"登陸嘉義布袋" 急診室外救護車遭吹走

2025-07-07

颱風丹娜絲在昨天（6）晚間11點40分左右，從嘉義布袋登陸，長時間的狂風驟雨，讓當地傳出不少災情。就有民眾在網路上PO出影片，在嘉義長庚醫院的急診室外，有一輛救護車，一度被強風吹到橫著走，連醫院大門也差點抵不住瞬間的強陣風，就看所有醫護人員始終堅守崗位，讓人動容，所幸最後沒有造成人員傷亡。

醫院急診室外風強雨驟，狂風有多強烈，看看這外頭閃著警示燈的救護車，直接被吹到橫向飄移。

就怕連急診大門都不見了，好幾名醫護人員焦急守在外頭，而這一回的丹娜絲，也是嘉義地區罕見出現的登路颱風。

[[民視記者林彥君]]
“中颱丹娜絲 6號晚間在嘉義布袋登陸，嘉義市區也造成嚴重災，但這回颱風走的路徑相當罕見，根據資料顯示，過去在台南以北登陸的颱風只有八個”

[[當地居民]]
“就是好像在大地震一樣，在戰爭一樣，都是很恐怖”

另一邊，嘉樂福夜市也差不多慘，入口處兩根大圓柱被吹倒，牌樓掛在半空中搖搖欲墜，美食區屋簷傾斜，攤販的棚架、貨物散落一地。

[[嘉樂福夜市攤商]]
“我六點來看就是這樣。有史以來，看到風吹成這樣的”

市區到處都是被連根拔起的路樹，砸中汽機車，扯斷電線；中正公園滿目瘡痍，五六棵大樹傾倒，還有鋁梯飛到天上，掛在樹上。

[[嘉義市居民]]
“沒看過風這麼大的，紅綠燈整個都吹倒，有夠恐怖”

丹娜絲颱風在嘉義布袋登陸，在嘉義市區造成百年來罕見的嚴重災情，不幸中的大幸是，沒有人員因此而傷亡。

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A guest was staying at a guesthouse along the coast of Pingtung when they made an unexpected discovery: a crab was sitting in the toilet bowl. Frightened, the guest quickly called the guesthouse owner, who responded calmly, saying it was perfectly normal. Let’s see what happened.

A crab appearing in the toilet gave the guest quite a scare, prompting a quick call to the guesthouse owner.

Voice of guesthouse owner
The guest said, “There’s a crab in your toilet. Is that normal?” I said, “Oh, that’s pretty normal! Around this time of year, they often show up in our toilets because our drainage pipes are pretty close to the ocean.”

The crab moved without hesitation. Placed back into the toilet, it walked straight into the drainpipe.

Voice of guesthouse owner
This area actually has a very rich ecosystem with lots of land crabs, so we’re used to seeing hermit crabs and other crabs inside the guesthouse.

The owner says the area around the guesthouse is full of nature, and the local ecosystem is harmless. He says land crabs make frequent appearances. But how do guests feel about this?

Guest
It’s not a big deal. Nothing to make a fuss over.

Guest
I would scream! Why would there be a crab in the toilet?

This species — Episesarma versicolor, or the violet vinegar crab — is one of Taiwan’s two largest land crabs. It’s nocturnal, and most active between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m.

Voice of Ku Ching-fang
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I’ve come across this multiple times. I’ve seen various types of land crabs show up inside people’s homes, so it’s not surprising to find one in a toilet.

Over two years ago in Chiayi County’s Dongshi Township, a local resident discovered a 15cm land crab in their toilet. At first, they thought they were seeing things, but even after flushing, the crab wouldn’t go away. In contrast, this one at the Pingtung guesthouse really was no big deal.

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TSMC faces discrimination class action lawsuit in US

A lawsuit against TSMC alleging discrimination and safety concerns was refilled by 17 former and current US employees in the Arizona plant. The plaintiffs alleged that the company discriminates against local US hires and favors Taiwanese and Chinese employees, and that local US employees were subject to racist remarks by those foreign workers. They also claimed that the company does not have sufficient safety measures on their facilities. In response, TSMC said they will not comment on litigation outside of court filings, but that with a global team of more than 3,000 employees at the TSMC Arizona, the company will continue to build a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment.

TSMC’s fab in the US state of Arizona employs top talent from around the world. However, last year in November, 13 former and current employees accused the company of “anti-American” discrimination. In July, a discrimination lawsuit against TSMC was refiled, this time by 17 plaintiffs. They submitted more than 160 pages of allegations to the court.

Jeffrey Chiu
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Semiconductor fabs have very strict standards in terms of discipline. The high yield rate is a result of great discipline. Western companies are more liberal. It will take them some time to get used to the company culture at TSMC’s US plant.

According to a report by a local TV news outlet, 12News, employees at the Arizona plant alleged that TSMC favored Taiwanese and Chinese hires, and that around half of the employees were on foreign work visas. Additionally, they also said US employees were marginalized.

A supplier for TSMC revealed that when they visit the Arizona plant, they’d speak Chinese directly to the Taiwanese employees out of habit. They said, that since local US employees don’t understand Chinese, they felt sidelined. Following such incidents, managers at TSMC Arizona had since asked engineers to use English as the main language at work.

Jeffrey Chiu
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The US employees may think that if their rights are not being protected, then the company is at fault and so they can make their feelings known to the company to an extent. For a company with great stature and management like TSMC, it shouldn’t be a problem for them to explain things in detail to US employees in English.

Plaintiffs also alleged to insufficient security measures in the company, such as a lack of personal protective gear and that they were required to call the company’s internal service instead of 911 in case of an emergency.

In a statement to 12News, TSMC said the company will not comment on litigation outside of court filings. The company added that it’s proud of the global team of more than 3,000 people that has come together to make their new facility in Arizona a success, and that they look forward to growing the site into a major center of American semiconductor manufacturing excellence. They ended by saying that TSMC is committed to providing a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for employees, contractors, and everyone who works at their facilities around the world.

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With its giant head and adorable face, the beluga whale is the star of the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium. The aquarium has three, all in their young adulthoods at 26. But as they’re getting older, the park needs to be more vigilant about their health.

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The aquarium is also known for its penguins.

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For our health checks, we work with the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology to check their vitals so that we can provide better care for them.

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A Tainan woman whose mother had bought duck eggs to eat and left them sitting for two weeks came home to an interesting surprise one evening – the quacking of ducklings. To her astonishment, eggs that were meant to be food had cracked open, and tiny ducklings had emerged. The woman, Ms. Pan, was both shocked and thrilled.

What this woman thought was an unfertilized duck egg had cracked open, and a tiny duckling poked its head out. She quickly wrapped the duckling in a towel to keep it warm.

Voice of Ms. Pan
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When I got home from work, my mom told me that while she was busy in the kitchen that morning, she heard quacking sounds. She went to see where the noise was coming from and found that one of the eggs she bought had cracked, and a duckling had emerged from it.

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Voice of Ms. Pan
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My mom’s friend didn’t explain clearly. She just told her they were duck eggs, so my mom thought they were salted duck eggs and left them in the kitchen.

Normally, duck eggs sold in markets are from egg-laying ducks raised on farms, and these eggs are typically unfertilized, meaning they won’t hatch.

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There must have been a male duck present in the environment where the mother duck was raised, which led to the eggs being fertilized. And with the right external conditions—such as sufficient warmth—ducklings can hatch.

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Visitors to tudigong altar in Yilan offered popsicles

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Opening this freezer, visitors are greeted with a full stock of popsicles in different flavors – all of which are free.

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The altar was named “Shunfeng,” because a key aspect of the local community’s culture is the Shunfeng flag raising competition, which symbolizes safety and success. Since the coach for the competition often buys popsicles for the team during hot summer practices, the idea came up to use popsicles to connect with visitors.

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One of our association members said, “Coach, there’s a temple known for sharing instant noodles, why don’t we share popsicles?” I told him, “I can’t decide that. You’ll have to ask the tudigong.” So, they cast divination blocks, and the tudigong responded positively.

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I didn’t expect there to be popsicles—it was quite a surprise. So, we hurried over.

The story of the tudigong who offers popsicles has garnered widespread attention. Though the altar is small, its icy treats have drawn in curious visitors from far and wide.

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The footage is terrifying. The sign sways in the wind before suddenly coming crashing down. The pillar splits in half, and the cables send sparks flying everywhere, in a spectacular explosion.

The collapse happened in the car park of a chain retailer in Tainan’s Jiali District on Sunday evening. Strong gusts of wind snapped the sign right in half, a testament to the might of Typhoon Danas.

Cheng Po-hui
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Workers dealt with the debris in the morning after the collapse, which happened when the shop was still open. Fortunately when the structure came falling down, nobody was near it, and nobody was hurt.

Heard the collapse
I heard a loud crash, but I didn’t know what happened. Scary!

Another collapsed structure was a gate at the 360-year-old Nankunshen Temple. Strong winds blew the whole thing down, leaving the ornamental carvings and statuettes in a puddle on the ground.

Member of public
I never thought it would collapse. It had so many pillars but it still fell down. The lights on the gate were on, but then I couldn’t see them anymore. I did another take and I went to look and it had really collapsed.

The gate was built 40 years ago, and was held up by 12 pillars, all of which were snapped off. The once magnificent arch is now lying on the ground in shambles in a pool of water. Though the wind and rain eased somewhat on Monday, the square outside the temple remains flooded. At its deepest area, the water reaches up above the ankles, and many fragments of the gate are submerged.

And the temple was not the only structure damaged. Nearby, metal roofing was blown off buildings.

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It’s so heavy, but it was blown all the way here. The typhoon was stronger this time. It didn’t cross over from the east coast, so it didn’t get blocked by the Central Mountain Range. It came straight from the south.

Locals are helplessness in the wake of the typhoon. It’ll be long before things go back to normal.

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