Typhoon Morakot had killed at least 67 people and left 61 missing in Taiwan as of Wednesday noon, Xinhua quoted the island's authorities as saying. Another 45 people were injured after the worst typhoon to hit the island in nearly five decades wrecked havoc across the central and southern regions. The toll included three rescuers on board a helicopter that crashed Tuesday during a disaster-relief mission in southern Pingdong County. Their bodies were found on Wednesday morning. Strong winds also cut electricity supply to more than 1.59 million households, but power has been restored to nearly 1.56 million of them by Wednesday, according to local power companies. Typhoon Morakot has caused more than 8.8 billion New Taiwan Dollars (about 267 million U.S. dollars) in agricultural damage, according to local agricultural authorities. Hundreds of roads and bridges on the island have been destroyed by floods, and disaster-relief enters have dispatched helicopters to transport villagers and air-drop goods in those regions.
