Excess water from torrential rains on Thursday in Kaohsiung was quickly drained due to 15 retention basins built by the city government, I-Shou University Department of Mass Communication professor Hou Tsun-yao (侯尊堯) said on Friday.
Central and southern Taiwan have been battered by torrential rain since Thursday due to a tropical depression that has been moving slowly over that area, bringing gusty winds and torrential rain, which have caused travel and power disruptions, as well as flooding in Pingtung County, Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung, among other areas.
The Central Weather Bureau issued an “extremely torrential rain” alert for Yunlin, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Penghu, meaning it expected accumulated rainfall of 200mm over 24 hours or 100mm in three hours.
Photo: Hung Ting-hung, Taipei Times
Hou from 1995 to 2001 headed then-Kaohsiung County’s Planning and Control Office and doubled as head of the county Information Office. In those capacities, he was involved in hydroengineering efforts on all three major river systems in the area — those of the Love River (愛河), Houjin River (後勁溪) and Cianjhen River (前鎮溪).
Heavy rainfall due to extreme weather patterns is a problem that the US, Japan and many EU countries also face, Hou said, adding that the retention basins in Kaohsiung, while unable to prevent flooding, have reduced the flooded areas by 80 percent.
It is impossible to prevent local flooding following torrential rain, so hydroengineering efforts should be judged according to the rate of water drainage, not whether they prevent floods completely, he said, calling on Kaohsiung residents to maintain solidarity and unite in disaster relief efforts.
Politicians should not try to capitalize on the disaster and gloat over the misery of others, Hou said.
It is unacceptable if politicians try to use the events to gain an edge in the year-end local elections, he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS