A huge fire at a waste pile in Tainan's Annan District set off repeated explosions overnight, damaging homes and cars and forcing dozens of families out.

• The fire broke out after 1am on Haidian Road, with blasts strong enough to damage fire trucks and residents' cars.
• Around 11 townhouses were hit directly and roughly 40 households were affected, with a local temple opened as a shelter and meals provided.
• The site was an open lot stacked with scrap metal and waste oil drums, which is why the flames and explosion risk were so high.
• Air testing found ammonia at a level people can smell and that irritates the eyes, nose and throat, so residents downwind in Annan and Yongkang were told to shut windows and stay inside.
• Deputy Mayor Chiang Lin-huang visited the scene, and legislator Chen Ting-fei arrived at dawn.

Outlook: Investigators will look into how the fire started and who piled up the waste, with fines likely under air pollution and waste disposal laws if the dumping was illegal.