Stranded flood victims use smoke signals for help

Being cut off from the outside world for days and their supply of food and potable water exhausted, the villagers in the remote community of Chuantsaiser sent the smoke signals, which in the past were used only to issue warnings or war alarms, said a local resident surnamed Yeh via a civil band radio.

To their chagrin, their smoke signals did not draw any rescue helicopters to their location. They returned to their muddy homes and made plans for their next meal — probably bamboo shoots that they planned to dig up, Yeh said.

Meanwhile, Wang Ching-hui, formerly a rescuer, said he has lived in Taihe Village in Meishan township for nearly half a century but had never seen any natural disaster as devastating as the flooding and landslides triggered by Typhoon Morakot.

Wang said as far as he knew, four residents in the tribal community of Youcheliao had been buried alive by mudslides and their bodies were still there, while some 80 tribal people in the Chengmikao community remained stranded without any supply of food or water.

He said some deep valleys were still completely cut off from rescue or relief efforts because massive landslides knocked out roads in the area. If villagers need to venture out, they will have to travel by foot from Meishan township via neighboring Yunlin or Nantou counties.

To reach Youcheliao and Chengmikao communities — the hardest-hit areas in Meishan township — rescuers would have to cross the Chingshui River first and then navigate through broken mountain roads for another two hours, Wang said.

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