The government has cleared southern Taiwan’s three major reservoirs of driftwood left behind by Typhoon Morakot after the storm battered the region in August, the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Water Resources Agency said yesterday.
About 70,000 tonnes of driftwood was removed from the Zengwun Reservoir, Nanhua Reservoir and Wushantou Reservoir, 57,000 tonnes of which was cleared from the Zengwun reservoir alone, the agency said.
The agency said it removed the driftwood in a three-stage process.
The Forestry Bureau first collected all the driftwood with economic value, which accounted for less than 10 percent of the 70,000 tonnes.
The public was then given the opportunity to use it and the remaining wood was put up for sale through public tenders.
The remaining driftwood, which was mostly crushed, was sold to gardening businesses to be used as organic fertilizer or fuel, the agency said. Some of the driftwood was also used by mushroom farms as a planting medium.
The agency said it could provide advise to the winning bidders on how to effectively use the driftwood.
Since Typhoon Morakot, the three southern reservoirs have faced a severe silt problem that has greatly reduced their water storage capacity.
The government intends to set aside NT$54 billion (US$1.7 billion) over six years to dredge the reservoirs to stabilize the erratic water supply in the Tainan and Kaohsiung areas.
The agency said it would also continue to clear away driftwood from the reservoirs’ upstream watersheds to prevent any more from entering the reservoirs.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS