Fourteen people have been killed and 124 are missing in eastern Taiwan after a barrier lake burst its banks amid heavy rains brought on by Super Typhoon Ragasa .

Most of the dead were elderly people who were unable to escape the rising floodwaters from Matai’an Creek Barrier Lake in Guangfu Township, Hualien County, the Hualien County Fire Department said on Wednesday.

Thirty-four people were injured, with rescue operations for the missing under way, the fire department said.

Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) reported that the lake, which was formed by debris dislodged by previous rains, overflowed on Tuesday morning, followed by a much larger surge in floodwater at about 4:30pm local time (08:30 GMT).

Video footage shared by Taiwanese media showed fast-moving waters surging through

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