The heavy rains brought by Typhoon Toraji caused serious flooding, cave-ins and mudslides in many areas nationwide. The typhoon took away precious lives and left most of the disaster areas without drinking water and electricity. Floods and landslides caused by typhoons have become a cause of frequent suffering in Taiwan. At the root of the problem are not merely the natural disasters themselves, but also human error.
Taiwan has high mountains, steep slopes and unstable soil. Often typhoons bring more than 500mm of heavy rain with them, causing disasters such as floods, cave-ins and landslides. In recent years, many mountain slopes previously covered with flood-containing forests have been rapidly given over to roads and housing developments. Even worse, many houses and highrises have been built in drainage areas, reducing the space for water percolation and drainage.
These human errors have exacerbated both the frequency of disasters and the scale of the damage they cause.
A multi-pronged approach is needed to solve the flooding and mudslide problems. Apart from flood diversion, storage and release control at flood prevention dams, preservation of forests in catchment areas as well as water and soil conservation should be adhered to. More importantly, drainage areas should be cleared of obstacles and their drainage functions restored. In order to enforce restrictions on construction in drainage areas, coordination between local governments and the public should be strengthened through various channels, thus reducing obstacles to implementation.
In many areas in Taiwan, the flooding problem is as much a man-made disaster as a natural one. But it is unfair to put all the blame for the damage -- and the responsibility for rescue work -- on the government and rescue agencies.
During a flood, all rescuers hope to reach the scene as soon as possible once a rescue request is made, even if the transportation routes have been cut off. But excessive requests can sap the energy of the rescue units, which only have limited personnel and equipment and simply can't meet everyone's expectations immediately. Deplorably, many people fail to recognize the importance of evacuation. The failure to evacuate flood and mudslide-prone zones is usually the cause of unnecessary deaths.
The heavy rains brought by Typhoon Xiangsane last year killed 14 elderly people who were trapped in a basement nursing home and another 15 at a religious institution located in a basement in Keelung. Even though floods in such an area are a combination of natural disasters exacerbated by man-made problems, the loss of human lives was purely a man-made one that could have been avoided.
Similarly, ground-floor apartments -- not to mention basements -- of houses in the low-lying areas along the Keelung River should never be used or occupied during typhoons and heavy rains. This clearly shows that we need to plan and thoroughly implement an all-round educational program on disaster evacuation -- a program in which local governments, education and information authorities, the media and the public should all participate.
As the old Chinese saying goes, "Do not enter a dangerous place; do not live in a disordered state" (危鄰不入, 亂邦不居). Dangerous areas around the country must be cleared of residents. By planning and implementing an educational program like that described above, a consensus that "everyone is responsible for disaster prevention, evacuation and relief" can be achieved.
The public needs to fully understand that there are many dangerous areas where floods and landslides take place easily. Residents living in these areas must learn from that other old Chinese saying, "Of the 36 strategies for handling a situation, the best is to get away at once" (
Although it is necessary to build flood-prevention structures and to promote water and soil conservation, the government cannot provide protection measures in each and every dangerous area due to the huge costs -- not to mention their limited effect. As a consequence, the establishment of an educational program on disaster prevention and evacuation has become crucial.
Unnecessary loss of human life and property could be greatly reduced if the public were to evacuate dangerous areas in a timely fashion in the event of typhoons. It's never too late to take precautions. It is to be hoped that both the government and the public will face the above suggestions squarely.
Cheng Jie-dar is director of the Research Center for Conservation of Water Resources and Disaster Prevention at National Chung Hsing University.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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