'500 killed by Taiwan typhoon'

About 500 people were killed by floods and mudslides in Taiwan which were sparked by Typhoon Morakot, President Ma Ying-jeou said today.

He said Morakot had inflicted the most severe damage of any storm on the island in 50 years.

He made the remarks today at a national security conference, the first he called since taking office 15 months ago.

And he urged officials to beef up rescue and relief operations.

Typhoon Morakot dumped more than 80 inches of rain on the island last weekend.

A total of 15,400 villagers were ferried to safety, and rescuers were struggling to save 1,900 people still stranded at remote villages.