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Weather bureau forecasts another day of heavy rain

Water flows down a street drain in downtown Kaohsiung yesterday after several hours of torrential rain that affected traffic. PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES

Heavy rains continued in Kaohsiung City yesterday, resulting in flooding across the city.

The Central Weather Bureau said that as of 3pm yesterday, accumulated precipitation in Kaohsiung’s Chienchen District (前鎮) reached 214mm, followed by 175.5mm in Hsiaokang District (小港).

The torrent continued in Pingtung County as well, with rainwater submerging the highway near Pingtung’s Linbian (林邊), a key producer of fruits such as wax apples.

In Linbian nonstop rainfall over the last two days had accumulated 250mm of rainwater in some areas, which was the third-deepest flooding countrywide yesterday, the bureau said.

The bureau said it expected more heavy rain today across the country.

As the front continues to hover over Taiwan, the south, southeast, and central regions of the country can expect another day of heavy rain today. The bureau also issued a torrential rain warning for Kaohsiung and Pingtung.

Residents in mountainous areas should exercise caution and be alert against landslides and mudflows, while people in low-lying areas should be alert against flooding, it said.

The bureau also warned of lightning and strong winds.

Weather forecaster Chang Yu-hsien (張育銜) said that as the front is moving north, the whole country can expect the stormy weather to continue. Despite the rains, temperatures could still be as high as 31˚C, Chang said.

Torrential rains over the past several days have affected most of the country, leaving farmland and roads inundated and obstructing traffic, officials from the Council of Agriculture (COA) reported yesterday.

Northern regions have largely been spared from the flooding.

In central and southern Taiwan, a total of 1,073 hectares of farmland have been damaged by heavy rains over the past days, with agricultural losses exceeding NT$20 million (US$656,000) in several counties.

Yunlin and Changhua counties have been hit hardest, officials from the COA Food and Agriculture Agency said.

Leafy vegetables crops have sustained the most damage in Yunlin and Changhua. Cabbages, grapes and green onions have also taken a heavy beating, the officials said.

Executive Yuan Spokeswoman Vanessa Shih (史亞平) said yesterday that Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) had instructed the COA to raise subsidies for Yunlin and Changhua farmers who have suffered as a result of the nonstop rain.

Shih said that according to initial estimates, agricultural losses caused by heavy rainfall since the end of last month have amounted to about NT$20 million in the two counties.

Although that amount is not high enough for the farmers to qualify for government assistance, Liu instructed the COA to provide the farmers with funds to recover from the losses, Shih said.

The COA said it plans to increase standard subsidies for farmers who have experienced agricultural losses as a result of natural disasters.

The subsidy will be increased from NT$6,000 per hectare to NT$10,000 per hectare to reduce the financial burden on communities hit by typhoons and other disasters, Shih said.

Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
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