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.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or