Rain fails to end drought

Yesterday, Taipei finally got rain. But, at 1.02mm, it was not nearly enough to solve the water shortages afflicting the city.

By 6pm yesterday, the water level at the Feitsui Reservoir, the main source of water for the city, had fallen to 128.65m, a new record low and just over 18m above the "dead storage" level, below which water would have to be pumped out of the reservoir.

Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday afternoon that even if there was rain over the next one or two days, water rationing in Taipei would still begin tomorrow as planned.

Yesterday, it also rained in Kinmen, which is suffering from a severe water shortage and is planning to buy water from China.

The drizzle, which began at 5am and continued until noon, brought a total of 20mm of rain, with another 4mm falling later in the day.

The Kinmen County water plant issued a statement saying that after such a long drought, the rain would do little to alleviate the shortages.

But the plant was hopeful that the weather front now passing over the islands would bring further rainfall.

Many Kinmen residents thanked the god Matsu for the downpour, as a Matsu statue from Meizhou in China is currently touring around the Kinmen islands.

The Central Weather Bureau reported that rainfall in central Taiwan was heavier than in the northern part of Taiwan.

Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) enjoyed the heaviest rainfall of 55mm, followed by Nantou County's Yu-chih township (魚池鄉) with 37mm.

The mountain areas in Taoyuan also received an hour of rain yesterday afternoon beginning at 2pm, while other parts of the Taoyuan area got around half-an-hour of rain beginning at 1.30pm.

The Water Resources Bureau said that the rain would not have any great effect on stored-water volumes.

The Central Weather Bureau said that another front will approach Taiwan on Tuesday, possibly bringing more rain.