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The barrier lake in eastern Hualien county burst Tuesday, washing away a bridge and sweeping into a town with a trail of thick sludge and mud
The remaining piers of the Mataian Bridge after it collapsed during typhoon Super Typhoon Ragasa passing through Hualien in eastern Taiwan. (Dong Wen Transports via AP)
At least 14 people were killed when a decades-old lake barrier burst in Taiwan, a government official said Wednesday, after Super Typhoon Ragasa pounded the island with torrential rain.
The barrier lake in eastern Hualien county burst Tuesday, washing away a bridge and sweeping into a town with a trail of thick sludge and mud. "It was like a volcano erupting.... the muddy floodwaters came roaring straight into the first floor of my house," Hsu Cheng-hsiung, 55, a neighbourhood leader of Kuang Fu township, told AFP.
Lee Kuan-ting, a Hualien County Government press official, said 14 people were killed and 18 injured.
The National Fire Agency said 124 people were missing.
"It was a disaster movie," a local resident Yen Shau, 31, told AFP.
He said an hour before the lake burst, many people were still at the local supermarket and grocery store.
"Within minutes, the water had risen to halfway up the first floor," he said.
He said he couldn't sleep Tuesday night for fear of another deluge from the lake, and on Wednesday was shoveling mud from his home.
"The mud was just too deep, too deep to dig out," he added.
Footage released by the fire agency showed flooded streets, half-submerged cars and uprooted trees.
Across Taiwan, more than 7,600 people were evacuated due to Typhoon Ragasa.
Taiwan experiences frequent tropical storms from July to October.
Typhoon Danas, which hit the island in early July, killed two people and injured hundreds as the storm dumped more than 50 centimetres of rain across the south over a weekend.
Sharon Osbourne Breaks Her Silence with Shocking Confession
Osbournes’ UK Return Delayed Amid Health Struggles: A Story of Unseen Battles and Enduring Hope
Just as fans began to celebrate the Osbournes’ long-anticipated return to the UK, new health hurdles have cast uncertainty over their plans — fueling speculation that the full picture remains untold.
While Ozzy’s recent updates have offered glimmers of optimism, there may be deeper challenges behind the scenes that the public hasn’t yet witnessed. The journey back home is proving more complex than ever, and the real story is still unfolding.
After more than twenty years in Los Angeles, Ozzy Osbourne’s announcement in August 2022 that he and Sharon intended to resettle in the UK sparked excitement. But as Sharon candidly shared this week, “Every time we get ready to leave, something comes up with Ozzy’s health.”
Yet, despite these setbacks, Sharon remains resolute: “We’ll make it there. We really want to return, and we will, won’t we, Ozzy?”
Ozzy’s ongoing health updates on The Osbournes Podcast have been a window into his fight for wellness. Once gripped by addiction, he celebrated a major milestone earlier this year when a doctor confirmed his blood clots had vanished and “everything’s back to normal.”
Still, the emotional weight lingers. When a listener recently asked what he wished he could regain, Ozzy’s response was simple and poignant: “My health.”
Through years marked by highs and lows, the Osbournes’ story remains one of grit, love, and unyielding hope. Though Ozzy’s health continues to delay their UK move, their determination to embrace a new chapter burns bright.
His openness about the physical and emotional battles underscores the often unseen struggles of healing. And in the face of uncertainty, the couple’s unwavering bond and shared vision for the future offer a powerful reminder: recovery is a journey, and hope is never far away.
Johnson Pushes Back on ‘War Powers’ Vote Amid Iran Strikes
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on Monday that passing a war powers resolution would strip President Trump of his authority to continue military operations in Iran, warning that such a move would present a “frightening prospect.”
Representatives Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) plan to push for a vote on a war powers resolution this week, which would require Congressional authorization before Trump can use military force against Iran again. They argue that the operations in Iran put U.S. troops at risk and are not representative of an “America First” agenda.
According to a source who spoke to The Hill, the resolution is expected to be brought to the floor on Thursday.
“I think the idea that we would move a War Powers Act vote right now, I mean, it will be forced to the floor, but the idea that we would take the ability of our commander in chief, the president, take his authority away right now to finish this job, is a frightening prospect to me,” Johnson told reporters after a briefing on the operation.
“It’s dangerous, and I am certainly hopeful, and I believe we do have the votes to put it down. That’s going to be a good thing for the country and our security and stability,” he added.
The U.S. and Israel conducted joint military strikes against Iran on Saturday after weeks of threats from Trump, who had called for regime change in Tehran. Johnson wrote on the social platform X that Congress’s bipartisan “Gang of Eight” was “briefed in detail earlier this week that military action may become necessary to protect American troops and American citizens in Iran.”
On Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the Iranian military and regime were racing to achieve “immunity” for its ongoing nuclear weapons program, meaning the ability to develop enough ballistic missiles to shield itself and the program from destruction. That’s why Trump chose to act now, he added.
Trump told CNN on Monday morning that the “big wave” of the operation is yet to come. When he was asked how long the war will last, the president said, “I don’t want to see it go on too long. I always thought it would be four weeks. And we’re a little ahead of schedule.”
On Monday, Johnson told reporters he believes Trump “was acting well within his authority” as commander-in-chief to protect the country.
“It’s not a declaration of war. It’s not something that the president was required, because it’s defensive in nature and in design and in necessity, to come to Congress and get a vote first. And if they had briefed a larger group than the Gang of Eight, you know, there’s a real threat that that very sensitive intelligence that we had, you know, might have been leaked or something,” he said.
“So, this is why the commander in chief of our armed forces has the latitude that any commander in chief, any president always has, because they have a set of information that is sensitive, timely and urgent, and they have to be able to act upon it. They did that.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has urged lawmakers to support the war powers resolution, stating in a CNN interview on Monday that Trump needs to be constrained.
Presidents from both parties have taken action on behalf of the country in the past. Also, every president since the act was passed in the early 1970s has said they believe it unconstitutionally limits a president’s Article II authorities.
Trump Escalates Criticism of Ilhan Omar While Aboard Air Force One
What began earlier this month as a viral White House jab at Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has now turned into a broader campaign offensive, with President Donald Trump doubling down on his criticism of the Somali-born congresswoman and the Somali refugee community in the United States.
Omar said during an October appearance on The Dean Obeidallah Show that she was not worried about losing her U.S. citizenship or being sent back to Somalia, where she was born.
“I have no worry, I don’t know how they’d take away my citizenship and like deport me,” Omar said. “But I don’t even know why that’s such a scary threat. I’m not the 8-year-old who escaped war
anymore. I’m grown, my kids are grown. I could go live wherever I want.”
On Nov. 10, the White House posted on X a 2024 photo of Trump waving from a McDonald’s drive-thru window, replying to a clip in which Omar said she was unconcerned about being deported.
The photo — taken during a campaign stop in Pennsylvania — quickly circulated online and was widely interpreted as a taunting “good-bye” message aimed at the Minnesota lawmaker.
Now, the feud has reignited. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump referenced the allegation that Omar had entered the U.S. through a fraudulent marriage.
“She supposedly came into our country by marrying her brother,” he said. “If that’s true, she shouldn’t be a congresswoman, and we should throw her the hell out of the country.”
The president also broadened his remarks to criticize Somali immigration overall.
“Somalis have caused us a lot of trouble, and they cost us a lot of money,” Trump said. “What the hell are we paying Somalia for? We have Ilhan Omar who does nothing but complain about our Constitution and our country! We’re not taking their people anymore — in fact, we’re sending them back.”
Trump has often accused Omar of being “anti-American,” previously telling her and other progressive “Squad” members to “go back” to their “broken and crime-infested countries.” Omar responded earlier this month by calling Trump a “lying buffoon” and saying his story about Somalia’s president refusing to take her back was fabricated.
The White House has signaled that it will not walk back the president’s latest statements. A senior aide said Trump was “reminding voters that America’s generosity should never be repaid with contempt.”
Omar’s family fled Somalia’s civil war in 1991 and spent several years in a Kenyan refugee camp before settling in the United States. She was elected to Congress in 2018, becoming one of the first Muslim women and the first Somali-American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The renewed confrontation underscores the political tension between Trump and radical members of the “Squad.” It comes amidst growing concerns about immigration policy and the vetting of immigrants in the aftermath of an Afghan refugee’s shooting of two National Guard members over the Thanksgiving holiday.
