Third-phase water rationing in areas supplied by Taoyuan’s Shihmen Reservoir (石門水庫) has been lifted with immediate effect, thanks to heavy rain on Monday night, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
“There is no need to carry out the third-phase water rationing measures in the near future, as we now estimate there will be 47 million cubic meters of water in the Shihmen Reservoir by the end of next month,” Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Yang Wei-fu (楊偉甫) told reporters after a water supply meeting.
The ministry has a meeting on Friday to discuss the areas that depend on the reservoir for water — Taoyuan, as well as parts of New Taipei City and Hsinchu County — but after about 8 million cubic meters of water fell in the facility’s catchment area during heavy rainfall at about midnight on Monday, the ministry lifted the third-phase water rationing measures, Yang said.
Photo: CNA
The reservoir’s water level had risen to above 32 percent of its capacity after the rain, Yang said.
In addition, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) forecast that rainfall is to return to near-normal levels next month, which could ease the water shortage in northern regions, Yang added.
The areas supplied by the reservoir are still in second-phase water rationing, with industrial users’ water supplies cut by 5 percent, while supplies to high-use non-industrial consumers are cut by 20 percent, the ministry said.
However, the rain in the north was not brought by Typhoon Noul, whose impact was limited to the nation’s south, with the catchment areas of the Zengwen Reservoir (曾文水庫) in Chiayi County collecting 300,000 cubic meters of water and the Nanhua Reservoir (南化水庫) in Tainan receiving 100,000 cubic meters, the ministry said.
Yang said Friday’s meeting would include discussions on whether to enact third-phase water rationing in Kaohsiung and Tainan.
Last week, the ministry postponed the measures for another week, as rainfall helped boost the flow of the Gaoping River (高屏溪).
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS