The combination of an afternoon thunderstorm and a ruptured water pipe yesterday caused serious flooding at Terminal 2 of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport for the second time in less than a month.
Taoyuan International Airport Corp, which runs the airport, said the pipe in the airport’s A13 MRT station in the basement of the terminal burst, leading to a cascade of water from the ceiling to the floor below.
Airport staff used sandbags to stem the flow of water and got to work to clear the water.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
However, unlike the earlier incident, the food court on the same floor was not affected, nor was the power and air-conditioning system.
After a thunderstorm warning was issued at 3:54pm, ground operations at the airport were temporarily suspended, delaying several flights, the company said.
Flooding was also reported in some areas of Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan after the storm.
The Central Weather Bureau said that its Pateh station in Taoyuan had recorded a maximum precipitation of 117 millimeters between 3:10 pm and 4:10pm.
The Taiwan Railways Administration also reported some disruptions cause by flooding, saying that water on the Taoyuan-Yingge (鶯歌) West Line rose above the rails, while trains running on the Sanjia (山佳)-Yingge East Line had to slow down to 5kph due to flooding.
As for the June 2 flooding incident at the airport, a Public Construction Commission investigation later determined that it had been caused by a blockage in one of the airport’s drain pipelines, which had prevented the rapid discharge of floodwater into the Pusin River (埔心溪).
The commission also found that a failure to promptly close a floodgate at an underpass leading to the basement of Terminal Two led to the building’s basement flooding.
The Taoyuan International Airport Corp said financial losses caused by the June 2 flooding was more than NT$50 million (US$1.54 million), including damage to facilities and compensation fort the delayed delivery of their luggage.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS