With no end in sight to the drought, the Cabinet's drought disaster relief center will go ahead with its water rationing scheme this weekend in the areas of Taipei and Taoyuan counties that receive water from the Shihmen Reservoir, the center's executive-general Kuo Yao-chi (
All of Taoyuan County and 10 townships of Taipei County will have their water cut off from midnight tonight until noon on Sunday.
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
The 10 townships are: Panchiao (
Although the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) had predicted that the weather front that passed over Taiwan on Wednesday afternoon would bring a lot of rain, the areas around major reservoirs in northern and southern Taiwan received only a fraction of the amount needed to relieve the shortages.
The catchment area of the Shihmen Reservoir in Taoyuan County received 28mm of rainfall from midnight Wednesday to early Thurs-day morning. The water level of the dam now stands at 198.38m, 4m away from its "dead storage" level, below which water must be pumped out of the reservoir.
The Water Resources Agency (WRA, 水利署) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs said the Shihmen Reservoir -- a main water source for northern Taiwan -- continued to supply 1.3 million tonnes of water daily, but the water intake is just 600,000 tonnes. At least 300mm of rainfall would be needed to end the shortages, the bureau said.
The Feitsui Reservoir (
According to CWB statistics, Szushihfen (四十份) in Sindian (新店), Taipei County, has received the most rainfall over the past few days, with 75mm up until 9am yesterday. Pingshi (平溪) received 48mm and Feitsui (翡翠) 41mm.
The government urged people living in southern Taiwan to be prepared for water shortages.
The deputy director of the South Water Resources Bureau (南區水資源局) of the WRA, Peng Ho-ying (彭合營), warned that, except for Tsengwen (
The water in the three major dams should be able to meet household demand until the end of June. But, Peng added, some irrigation water might have to be diverted for household use.
In Tainan County, the Nanhua Reservoir (
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)