The remainder of the men were employed in unbarreling our Pork and stringing it on poles for convenience of carriage, and carrying our Batteaux from the river to the pond.

In one of the corners next the sea, standeth a flood-gate, to bee drawne vp and let downe through reigles in the side postes

In Cishan, a storm-ravaged town of 41,000, both road bridges had collapsed, smashing houses and taking down cars. Residents jammed a footbridge which remained standing. Rescuers used earth movers to clear mud from roads as hundreds of people cleaned homes or storefronts, heaving out water-logged possessions. My store has been closed for days because I figured no one could get to it, said Chen Chih-lu, who owns a furniture shop in Cishan. My guess is 90 percent of us are digging out of the mud. Outside Cishan, swathes of banana trees lay flat in the mud, testimony to agricultural losses totalling T$10 billion. Food prices soared by up to 50 percent and some staples were in short supply.

My father denied me a good education.