Ravine Separates Typhoon Survivors and Safety

[Coventina]

Source: New York Times

SINFA, Taiwan — The road that wends through the storm-battered mountains of Kaohsiung County ends here in a cliff hanger.

On the south side of the road, National Highway 27, there are hot meals, the succor of Buddhist monks, and after some wily driving across soggy roads, access to the rest of Taiwan.

For those stuck on the north side, because of a bridge that no longer exists, there is a 200-foot drop into a muddy torrent spawned by Typhoon Morakot.

Despite her fear of heights, Wang Ma-Lee, a 52-year-old goat farmer, decided she could no longer stay on the north side. She stepped into a rock-climbing harness, allowed a team of rescue workers to clip her to an overhead zipline cable, and then she stepped into the abyss as a row of young soldiers yanked her across the river.

“That was terrifying but I’m lucky to be alive,” she said upon arriving on the other side.

Since Typhoon Morakot soaked Taiwan last weekend, killing at least 108 people, Ms. Wang and her husband have been among tens of thousands of people stranded in a necklace of picturesque hamlets that extend along the Lao Nong River. The couple said they were among six people to survive in their corner of Sinfa when a wall of mud and water swept away 20 neighbors early Sunday.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/14/world/asia/14taiwan.html?hp