BEIJING, August 24 (RIA Novosti) - The death toll from early August's Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan has risen from 163 to 291, China's Sina news agency reported on Monday.
The figure is expected to rise further, with 387 people still missing, many of them buried under mudslides.
The typhoon, the worst storm to hit the island in half a century, caused heavy flooding, strong winds and landslides.
Taiwanese authorities were criticized for their "slow and chaotic" response to the disaster. In response, Defense Minister Chen Chao-min and Cabinet Secretary General Hsueh Hsiang-chuan offered their resignations on Wednesday, but were only expected to leave their posts in September at earliest.
