Agricultural losses in Taiwan caused by Typhoon Matmo reached NT$510.14 million (US$17.03 million) as of 5 p.m. Friday since the country started getting battered by the storm July 22.
According to the Council of Agriculture (COA), Hualien County in eastern Taiwan was the hardest hit by strong winds and torrential rain brought by Matmo, the first typhoon to directly hit Taiwan this year. The county reported losses of NT$333.89 million, 65 percent of the nation's total.
Other cities and counties also reporting agricultural losses include Yilan to the north, with NT$50.73 million, and Taitung to the south, with NT$40.53 million. Taichung on Taiwan's west coast also reported NT$18.84 million in losses.
The COA data also showed that crops on 1,952 hectares of farmland were completely destroyed out of 7,283 hectares that were affected by the typhoon.
Banana plantations were hit hardest, with 1,230 hectares damaged, amounting to NT$115.9 million in losses.
Other heavily hit crops were pomelos, water melons, custard apples, guavas, pears, papayas, leeks, taro and pineapples.
Meanwhile, livestock losses amounted to NT$2.15 million and losses in the forestry sector stood at NT$29.06 million.
Damage to privately-owned agricultural facilities reached NT$15.93 million, the COA said.
Source - http://focustaiwan.tw/
