Covenant News

Covenanters Uninjured as Typhoon Sweeps Taiwan

TAIWAN (August 1, 2001) - There was no damage to Covenant churches and no reports of injuries to Covenant staff in the wake of Typhoon Toraji that swept eastern coastal areas on Monday, according to David Husby, Asia region coordinator for the Department of World Mission of the Evangelical Covenant Church.

The typhoon also passed through the central part of the country during evening hours, creating the greatest flooding and landslides since 1959. Areas damaged by a September 1999 earthquake and an August 2000 "super-typhoon" also suffered the wrath of the storm's fury.

Husby, currently working in areas of Taiwan, met Tuesday evening with Nathen Chang, a Covenant pastor. "He (Chang) visited one of the worst hit areas today as the leader of a coalition of Protestant churches in Taiwan who are involved in relief work," Husby said. "In the area he visited, an entire village was washed away with 40 people from the village buried under the mud. Nathen remembered the last great flood in 1959, which occurred when he was a boy, when severe flooding occurred over the whole western half of the island of Taiwan. The flooding here on July 30 was the worst since that time."

At least 45 people died, with more than 150 reported as missing. Lines of communication (other than cell phones) were cut off and numerous roads were washed away, making it difficult for rescue workers to reach victims.

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