Two people died and hundreds of people were made homeless as floods following torrential rains hit parts of Taiwan Saturday, police and officials said. A man's body was found floating at a flooded underpass in the northern county of Taoyuan, while another man in the southern county of Kaohsiung died at a hospital after being electrocuted at a flooded factory, police said. Northern Taiwan was worst hit, with Taipei reporting serious floods in nearly 150 locations. Waters were shoulder-high in many places and flood waters rose to one-storey high in some low-lying areas, police said. "It's horrible. We couldn't sleep the whole night because the flood water kept rising," said store owner Chen Ching-wang in Nankang east of Taipei. He and his family had piled up sandbags to stop the water flowing into the basement. "But all our efforts were in vain. We had a full basement of water and I just don't know where to start cleaning up," he said. Police and city officials have evacuated hundreds of residents from seriously flooded areas. Waist-high floods were also reported in Hsichih, Keelung, Taoyuan in northern Taiwan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung in southern Taiwan. "Torrential rains will continue in the next two days island wide and residents are urged to take precautionary measures," said a forecaster with the Central Weather Bureau. --more 1414 Local Time 1114 GMT
