Floods kill three, destroy crops

A resident from Meinung Township rides a scooter through floodwaters to check on his delivery van, which had been swept into a drainage channel after torrential rains in central and southern Taiwan over the past few days. PHOTO: HSU PAI-YING, TAIPEI TIMES

Heavy rains in southern Taiwan have left three people dead and destroyed crops and produce worth an estimated NT$26.38 million (US$840,500), as of press time yesterday.

A mudslide buried alive a 65-year-old woman at a mountainous village in Tsochen in the southern county of Tainan earlier yesterday, while a man in the southern county of Pingtung was electrocuted, police said.

A 24-year-old motorcyclist was washed away by a flash flood in Kaohsiung County on Sunday when he attempted to move his half-soaked motorcycle away from a low-lying road, police said.

Kaohsiung County suffered the most agricultural damage, with NT$17.2 million in losses, according to the Council of Agriculture's (COA) estimates.

The council reported that leafy vegetables and melons have borne the brunt of the devastation.

An estimated 493 hectares of crops have been flooded as a result of the torrential rains, with 38 percent of these fields having their crops completely destroyed, according to the COA.

Next to Kaohsiung County, Pingtung County suffered the most in agricultural losses, at NT$3.97 million, followed by Tainan City, at NT$2.77 million, and Tainan County, at NT$2.44 million, the COA's statistics showed.

However, despite the heavy losses, the supply of fruit and vegetables to wholesale markets in Taipei has not been significantly affected, as these markets are mainly supplied by producers in Changhua, Yunlin and Chiayi counties.

These counties have not been seriously affected by the recent torrential rains, the officials noted, adding however that prices in the markets could increase in the near future.

Meanwhile, in anticipation of continuing torrential rains, the COA's Soil and Water Conservation Bureau yesterday issued a red alert against possible landslides and mudflows for 40 creeks in Pingtung, Tainan and Kaohsiung counties that are vulnerable to flooding.

Thirty-six of the creeks are located in 24 villages in eight townships in Pingtung. Under the red alert, local authorities have the power to forcibly evacuate residents living near the creeks in certain situations.

Because Pingtung County's traffic was seriously affected by heavy rains and flooding, the county government yesterday ordered schools at all levels in the county to be closed.

The Central Weather Bureau said the front, which has triggered the torrential rain, will stay for as long as one week.

More heavy rain is therefore expected nationwide, the bureau said yesterday.

Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday urged the Legislative Yuan to prioritize the bill for an eight-year, NT$80 billion (US$2.539 billion) flood-control project if it convenes an extra session next month.

Hsieh made the remarks while attending the annual conference of the Chinese Institute of Engineers.

Hsieh, who was Kaohsiung mayor before assuming the post of premier in February, said that southern Taiwan has been plagued by flooding for more than 10 years, and that the government was sympathetic to the plight of those affected.

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