Taiwan evacuates over 6,000 as typhoon lingers

(AP) TUNGSHAN, Taiwan — Taiwan had evacuated more than 6,000 villagers by Monday as Typhoon Parma lingered in seas near the island, bringing heavy rains and causing landslides, a rescue official said.

The evacuations, some of them forced, were concentrated in south Taiwan, which saw the heaviest losses from Typhoon Morakot in August, as fears mounted that the downpours could cause mountainsides to collapse.

"The evacuees have been relocated in shelters arranged by township offices. They're all safe," said Andrew Cheng, a Taipei-based official with the National Disaster Prevention and Protection Commission.

"The next 24 to 48 hours will be critical. We'll watch closely how much more rain Typhoon Parma will bring in," he told AFP.

More than 3,000 residents in Pingtung county in south Taiwan and almost 2,000 people in neighbouring Kaohsiung county have left their homes, while the rest were evacuated in east Taiwan's Yilan, Hualien and Taitung counties.