Agricultural losses in central and southern Taiwan due to five continuous days of torrential rain increased to nearly 900 million new Taiwan dollars (about 116.13 million U.S. dollars) by late Monday afternoon, according to news reaching Hong Kong from Taipei.

Quoting statistics compiled by the local government, the news said that Nantou, Taichung, Hsinchu, Changhua and Chiayi counties were the hardest-hit areas, and that the local government will offer financial assistance and low-interest loans to help affected farmers.

The most severely damaged crops were watermelons, grapes, persimmons and rice, while poultry farms also suffered heavy losses.

A total of 23,830 hectares of farmland were flooded, with nearly 20 percent of its crops destroyed, the news said.

The losses included deaths of 410 swine, 205,000 chickens, 2, 700 ducks and 6,525 geese.

Source: Xinhua