Forecasters say the trickle of rain that fell yesterday could turn into torrents before a weather front leaves Taiwan this weekend.
Around 25mm of rain fell yesterday on the Taipei area, which has been on strict water-rationing measures since Monday.
Forecasters said rains may continue in the days ahead, providing some hope that drought relief is on the way.
"The weather front is due to stay until Saturday and the waves of rainfall it brings will likely be heavier" compared to yesterday's rainfall, said Wu Wan-hua (
"Except for eastern Taiwan, other areas in the nation are expected to receive rainfall," Wu said.
Wu couldn't say which areas would receive the most rainfall.
Though torrential rains would go a long way toward relieving drought conditions, too much too soon would also prove dangerous, leading to flash flooding and mudslides.
"We're keeping an eye [on the weather front] and will issue heavy-rain or torrential-rain warnings if necessary," she said.
According to the weather bureau's guidelines, a heavy-rain warning is issued when more than 50mm of rainfall is expected in a 24-hour period.
The bureau issues a torrential-rain warning when more than 130mm is expected.
As of 6pm yesterday, Tainan County received the most rainfall with 22mm, Wu said. Pingtung County received 20mm, Miaoli County 19mm, Matsu 16.9mm and Taichung 15.5mm.
Yesterday was the first day of the "plum rain" season, so named for the plum trees that blossom this time of year.
According to Chen Shen-hsien (
Chen said the Shihmen Dam, located in Taoyuan County and a major supplier to northern Taiwan, would need 300mm of rainfall.
Just 6mm of rain fell at Shihmen as of 6pm yesterday, Chen said.
In related news, Ou Chin-der (歐晉德), Taipei deputy mayor, said the city would stick to its current water-rationing measure, in which water is cut off to rotating parts of Taipei once every five days.
City officials have been contemplating tightening the restriction to stopping water service once every three days.
"Due to the effectiveness of current rationing, the present water-rationing scheme will be carried out at least until [next Wednesday]," Ou said.
The deputy mayor made the comments yesterday after a meeting of the city's anti-drought task force.
Ou said that the water supply at the Feitsui Reservoir should last until the end of August under current rationing measures, provided that 150mm of rain falls this May and rainfall is 40 percent of normal levels in June and July.
"But if the rain doesn't come as hoped for, then we'll consider imposing the once-every-three-day measure," Ou warned.
The current drought is the worst in over 20 years.
RSS