Torrential rain lashes Taiwan

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Taiwan is experiencing the worst flooding since Typhoon Morakot in 2009. [ABC]

Staff writers and wires

Last Updated: Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:02:00 +1000

Torrential rains have triggered mudslides killing at least four people and injuring one in central Taiwan, say emergency service officials.

Two men were killed when their office was crushed in a landslide in Taichung city.

Another two people were killed and one was injured when a makeshift shelter in a mountainous area of Nantou county was engulfed.

In northern Taoyuan county, 20,000 chickens were drowned when a farm was submerged by a flash flood.

Some areas have received more than 700 millimetres of rain since Monday.

Schools and government offices have suspended activity in several large cities, as Taiwan faces the most serious flooding since Typhoon Morakot in 2009, which triggered massive mudslides that killed more than 600 people.