Extremely heavy rainfall brought by a frontal system pummeled northern Taiwan yesterday morning, severely disrupting operations at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and affecting more than 200 flights.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications said that the thunderstorms, which lasted for more than two hours, as well as overflow from the Pusin River (埔心溪), had caused flooding at the two traffic underpasses leading to the airport terminals.
Because of the flooding in the underpasses, motorists traveling to and from the airport were asked to use Provincial Highway No. 4, rather than the usual route, Freeway No. 2.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Rainwater also leaked through the ceiling of Terminal Two and caused flooding in its underground food court.
Air navigation facilities on Datunshan (大屯山), in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), which are used to guide air traffic into the airport, were also affected by the thunderstorms, forcing Air Navigation and Weather Services to activate a backup system in order to continue with air traffic control procedures.
By 1:30pm, 88 flights arriving at the airport and 131 departure flights had been affected by the weather, including two flights that were forced to land at airports in Kaohsiung and Taichung.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
After pumping out the floodwater, the airport reopened its main access routes at 6:13pm.
Passengers were crowded in the lobby of Terminal Two last night due to a backlog of delayed flights and an incomplete resumption of the power supply inside the terminal.
In response to the worst flooding since the airport opened in 1979, Premier Lin Chuan (林全) ordered the ministry to identify the causes of the flooding, adding that it must also identify those who should be held accountable.
Photo: CNA
“Lin was upset, because the airport is the gateway of the nation, and the flood caused a lot of trouble to the public,” Executive Yuan spokesman Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said. “The premier said that apparently there are serious problems with the construction [of the third terminal] at the airport, and asked the ministry to investigate — if there are human factors involved, then those people should be held responsible as well,” Tung said.
Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said that the ministry would deal with the issue of overflow from the Pusin River with assistance from the Water Resources Agency and the Taoyuan City Government.
He said that Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) needs to reinforce its ability to handle flooding at the airport, including the use of water pumps and power generators.
Photo: CNA, screengrab from Facebook
“TIAC must learn to coordinate with the Taoyuan City Government and its police department to facilitate access to the airport when flooding occurs,” Wang said.
The Taoyuan City Government dismissed claims from TIAC that the overflow from the Pusin River had clogged the airport’s drainage system with trash and tree branches.
However, Wang said that now is not the time to be looking for someone to blame.
“The most important thing is to solve the problem,” he said.
Wang said that 153mm of rain had poured into Taoyuan within three hours yesterday morning.
The Central Weather Bureau said that rainfall in Taoyuan yesterday morning accounted for about 8 percent of the city’s average annual rainfall, which is about 1,930mm.
The bureau said that the heavy rain was caused by a convection system, which moved slowly and caused heavy rainfall between 9:30am and 11:30am.
Additional Reporting by Loa Ioksin
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
RSS