Torrential rain brought by a southeast airstream yesterday led to severe flooding in Pingtung County and Kaohsiung, as the two regions were still reeling from devastation caused by a tropical depression system hovering over the nation last week.
Despite the heavy rain that began on Monday night, the Kaohsiung City Government did not make an announcement to cancel school and work until 6:12am.
Many commuters complained that they were not aware of the announcement until after leaving for work.
Photo: Chang Chung-i, Taipei Times
Although the city has spent about NT$30.3 billion (US$986.2 million) over the past 12 years to build 13 flood detention ponds and on other hydroengineering projects, flooding was still reported in Gushan (鼓山), Yancheng (鹽埕), Sanmin (三民) and Fongshan (鳳山) districts.
Pingtung did not cancel school and work, although flooding was reported in Pingtung City and several townships.
A resident in the county’s Yanpu Township (鹽埔) surnamed Lu (盧) told reporters yesterday morning that he was used to flooding in his neighborhood, because it happened every time there was heavy rain.
Photo: Chang Chung-i, Taipei Times
Another resident, surnamed Sheng (盛), said his home was inundated by midnight, adding that it has been flooded three times this month.
“It is a long-standing problem. One wonders what the government has been doing all these years,” Sheng said.
Accumulated rainfall in Pingtung’s Sinyuan Township (新園) surpassed 380mm by 7:50pm, followed Pingtung County’s Wandan Township (萬丹) with 361mm, Central Weather Bureau data showed.
The southwest airstream would continue to affect central and southern Taiwan, as well as the southeast region, the bureau said, adding that these regions could experience hours of rainfall.
Rainfall in the nation today would progressively decrease compared with Monday and yesterday, but chances of heavy to extremely heavy rainfall remain high nationwide, it added.
The bureau forecast that the monsoon trough would gradually move away from Taiwan and the southwest airstream would weaken tomorrow and Friday, although chances of showers would remain high in central and southern Taiwan, as well as the southeast region.
From Saturday to Monday next week, the humidity would decrease further as the Pacific high pressure tends to move west, the bureau said, adding that cloudy to sunny skies with afternoon thundershowers are forecast for most of the nation during this period.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS