Typhoon death toll rises to 163

TAIPEI, Taiwan, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- The death toll in Taiwan from Typhoon Morakot rose Sunday to 163 with 503 people still missing, authorities said.

Many of the missing are feared buried in mudslides in Kaohsiung, where 96 people were found dead after the Aug. 8 typhoon, Xinhua, China's state-run news agency, reported Sunday.

Morakot, the worst typhoon to hit Taiwan in nearly half a century, buried many alive in mudslides in the central and southern part of the island, injuring at least 45 people, Xinhua reported.