Tropical storm drenches Taiwan
TAIPEI, Taiwan (Reuters) -- Tropical storm Melor killed one person as heavy rains triggered flooding after the storm changed course and began heading north up Taiwan's eastern coast, a government official said on Monday.
"The storm has killed one cleaning worker in a southern hotel while three people are missing, but in general, the situation is not serious," an interior ministry official said by telephone.
With maximum sustained winds of 90 kms (56 miles) per hour and gusts up to 120 kms (75 miles), Melor brought torrential rains that led to floods and landslides in some southern and eastern Taiwan.
By 2130 GMT, the storm was 80 kms (50 miles) southeast of Taiwan's southeastern coastal city of Taitung, moving north at 10 kms (6 miles) per hour, the Central Weather Bureau said in a statement.
Melor changed course after heading west on Sunday. The bureau had previously forecast the storm would move towards Hong Kong and China's southern province of Guangdong.
Government officials have allowed 60 Chinese fishing boats with 898 fishermen aboard to enter Taiwan's harbors to shelter from the storm.
In 2001, one of Taiwan's deadliest years for storms, Typhoon Toraji killed 200 people. A few months later, Typhoon Nari caused Taipei's worst flooding on record and killed 100.
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