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Heavy rains lash south, rest too dry

Efforts aimed at dealing with the water shortage in the north while at the same time trying to prevent flooding around the country will be continued, even with the arrival of the summer rains, the Water Resources Agency (WRA) said yesterday.

Since last week, southern Taiwan has been affected by heavy monsoon rains. On Thursday, rainfall in some areas of central and southern Taiwan exceeded 200mm.

Yesterday, officials at the Central Weather Bureau issued torrential rain warnings, reminding residents in mountainous areas that the downpours could trigger natural disasters such as landslides and mudslides.

Weather forecasters said the rain would not stop until early tomorrow.

In the north, however, limited rainfall in the past few days has failed to significantly raise water levels at major reservoirs.

According to the WRA, rainfalls at the Hsihmen Dam in Taoyuan County and the Feitsui Reservoir in Taipei County were less than 20mm.

In comparison, the Tsengwen Reservoir in Tainan County received more than 90mm of rain.

Agency officials now look forward to the arrival of the season's first typhoon, which is expected to affect the weather nationwide by Monday.

Officials at the bureau said yesterday that a tropical depression situated close to Guam would develop into a typhoon today and approach Taiwan.

WRA officials said that the structure of the potential typhoon was similar to Typhoon Rammasun, which brought heavy rains to the north last July, ending the worst drought in the last two decades.

Meanwhile, the agency yesterday ordered subordinate units to implement flood-prevention measures nationwide.

WRA spokesman Chen Shen-hsien (陳伸賢) said yesterday that the agency would focuses on soil maintenance, river management, drainage in urban areas, and safety checks at construction sites.

Chen said that 30 new mobile water pumps would be used this summer, as soon as it becomes necessary, together with other flood-prevention equipment such as sand bags.

"We will especially focus on flood-control measures at the Keelung River. People piling up containers illegally on the river bed are ordered to have those goods removed immediately," Chen said.

Due to the lack of storage sites at Keelung Harbor, large containers are often transferred from there to remote areas in Taipei County where the Keelung River runs through.

When Typhoon Rari swept through northern Taiwan in September 2001, dozens of containers were washed into the river, creating dams and causing floods in residential areas.

Chen said yesterday that a flood-control dam, which was started last June in Ilan County, would reduce the long-term risk of flood damage to residents living along Keelung River.

The construction will be completed by the end of next year, further reducing the water level of the Keelung River by 1.5m.
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