Torrential rains battered Taiwan on Thursday, flooding low-lying areas and causing widespread damage.

The extreme weather, fuelled by the slow-moving Typhoon Saola, disrupted life for many of the island's 23 million people.

In Sanshia township inTaipei county, surveillance camera footage showed a lone man dropping into a hole and being buried by debris after a road collapsed beneath him.

The man's body was recovered hours later after rescue workers searched the scene.

Officials said the road's foundations had been washed away by floodwaters from the river close by.

A reporter from local network ETTV was sent fleeing during her live broadcast when more of the road began collapsing behind her.

Dozens of flights were cancelled at Taipei's main international airport, where heavy winds destroyed two passenger walkways, and rail transport throughout the island was disrupted.