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City, county officials at odds over Sanchung flood

Preliminary investigation shows broken drainage pipes at the MRT construction site might be the cause of the flooding in Taipei County's Sanchung City, according to Chang Pei-yi (張培義), deputy chief of the city's Department of Rapid Transit Systems.

"The flood discharge from the Feitsui Reservoir and Shihmen Dam was the highest volume recorded in recent decades, and the huge amount of floodwater caused a breach in the drainage of the MRT construction sites near Tung-an pumping station. The floodwaters flowed backward from the broken drainage pipes into Sanchung and Hsinchuang," Chang said.

Over one-third of Sanchung was ravaged by the flooding. It was suspected that the deluge resulted from the fracturing of the drainage pipes at the MRT construction sites near the Tung-an pumping station where the floodwaters flowed in, officials said yesterday.

Starting early yesterday morning, water from the Tamshui and Tahan rivers rapidly engulfed Sanchung, and the floodwaters reached a depth of nearly 40cm. Nearly every road and lane in Sanchung became a small river. Cars parked on the roadside were submerged, and inflatable boats became the only form of transportation for many residents.

The downtown area of Hsinchuang City was also flooded, with the water reaching to people's knees. Residents were forced to wade across the roads to get their daily commodities.

Chang said the department has accelerated its efforts to pump water out of roadways and residential districts, and has blocked the ruptured pipes with sand bags.

But Chang said it was still not clear if it was human error that caused the flood.

"We will uncover the real cause of the flooding, and will not shrink from our responsibility," Chang said.

The department was working on the MRT's Luchou and Hsinchuang lines, which will connect the MRT system between Taipei City and Taipei County.

Deputy commissioner of Taipei County Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀) said yesterday that the county government had enhanced flood-precaution measures around Hsichi, but it had not expected that the MRT construction would inflict such heavy damage on Sanchung and Hsinchuang.

Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who was inspecting disaster areas around the Taipei metropolitan area yesterday, denied that the MRT construction was a major factor in the flooding inflicted on Taipei County.

"It is only conjecture that the MRT construction is the cause of the trouble, and the real cause will be discovered once the flooding has subsided," Ma said, adding that it is too early to attribute fault to the Department of Rapid Transit Systems.
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