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Heavy rains continue to pummel Yunlin farmers

Heavy rains continued to pummel Siluo Township (西螺), Yunlin County, which received more than 300mm of rain between Monday and yesterday afternoon. Parts of the farming township, which produces vegetables, were under 15cm to 20cm of water yesterday, the Central Weather Bureau reported.

The bureau expected the rain to continue at least until Friday as the storm system lingers above Taiwan.

Chances of showers and thundershowers are high today for most areas of Taiwan, including Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu. Heavy fog is likely in Kinmen and Matsu.

Earlier yesterday, the bureau issued a torrential rain warning for areas south of Hsinchu, reminding residents in mountainous areas to be on the alert for landslides and those living in low-lying areas to watch for potential flooding.

In Pingtung County, heavy rains over the past few days have flooded the upper stream of the Ailiao Creek (隘寮溪), which has submerged the makeshift bridge to Haocha Village (好茶村) in Wutai Township (霧台).

Around 16 villagers who had returned to the largely abandoned village to farm over the weekend were trapped in the area but were not in danger and have sufficient food, Wutai Township Council Vice Chairman Ke Lian-deng (柯連登) said.

After Typhoon Sepat swept through last August, 112 families were forced to evacuate the area and a campsite was established nearby. Thirty percent of the village’s houses were destroyed by flooding from Sepat.

Ke said that most of the villagers had clothes and other daily necessities in the village but would not be able to return until the flooding had subsided. The villagers voiced strong discontent, urging the county government to help the community, which has been repeatedly threatened by flooding.

The villagers were forcibly relocated from the mountains by the government decades ago. A few residents still live in Old Haocha.

Tsai Wen-chin (蔡文進), a deputy director at the county’s Indigenous Peoples Bureau, said yesterday that the local government understood that the villagers do not want to be relocated from their homes at Haocha, adding that building a more stable suspension bridge over the river could resolve part of the village’s problems.

In related news, agriculture officials said yesterday that farmers’ groups nationwide had released 8,400 tonnes of frozen vegetables onto the market to compensate for the sudden crop losses caused by heavy rains.

In Yunlin County 190 hectares of farmland is still under water, the Agriculture and Food Agency said.

The agency estimated Yunlin County’s agricultural losses at NT$3.2 million (US$106,000), which it called minor. The county is a key producer of leafy vegetables and fruits.

Officials were confident that the release of frozen stocks would accommodate local demand.

Additional reporting by Shelley Shan
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