Typhoon Gaemi swept over the nation on July 24 and 25, causing severe flooding across Taiwan proper, especially in the central and southern areas. Agricultural losses caused by the typhoon were estimated to exceed NT$2.7 billion (US$82.27 million).
Gaemi injured more than 900 people and killed 10. More than 15,000 disaster-related incidents were reported to fire departments across the nation, with more than half of the cases related to fallen trees, damaged buildings and torn-off rooftops.
Although Kaohsiung has 25 detention ponds capable of retaining up to 4.98 million tonnes of stormwater, it rained so much that there was flooding in the city.
In this year’s National Scientific Report on Climate Change published by the government in May, scientists said if carbon emissions remain unchecked, rising temperatures could lead to Taiwan’s summers lasting up to seven months, adding that it could increase the intensity and frequency of droughts and cause fewer, but more intense typhoons.
The extreme-weather-related hazards — including direct heat injuries and deaths, damaged homes, and hunger caused by damaged crops and livestock — are challenging human survivability worldwide.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare data also showed that hospitals reported 1,188 cases of heat injuries last month, exceeding the 887 cases in the same month last year.
In response to the “existential threat” of extreme weather, the environment, health and welfare, and labor ministries held a Climate Change and Heat Adaptation Strategies Conference on Wednesday last week. In the conference, Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明), who has a meteorology background, stressed the importance of investing in “adaptation” strategies.
Aside from allocating budgets and focusing efforts on “disease prevention” and “net zero emissions,” the government should also invest more in adaptation strategies to enhance climate resilience, Peng said.
Taiwan should not hope for “no floods,” but become “unafraid of floods” by taking appropriate action, he said.
Peng said he would propose to focus on adaptation strategies in the first National Climate Change Response Committee meeting, which is to be held by President William Lai (賴清德) on Thursday.
The two main topics of the meeting are to be the potential impacts of climate change in the world and Taiwan, and addressing the challenges ahead for the nation’s energy supply by 2035.
Climate change adaptation is not a new concept. Members of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change established a global goal on adaptation in the Paris Agreement in 2015.
However, political spats are more often discussed in Taiwan. Opposition party lawmakers’ criticism of the government’s flood control projects and local administrations after Typhoon Gaemi, and the simplified “yes or no” debate on nuclear power have been more of a focus than adaptation steps.
Hopefully, Thursday’s meeting would focus on real climate change impacts backed by scientific research and practical adaptation strategies, including the government developing plans and engaging businesses, civic organizations, local communities, households and individuals.
A rice factory in Tainan’s Houbi District (後壁) went viral online, as it on July 27 posted a video of a flood control gate it installed at the outer fence of its factory to keep floodwater out. It wrote that it also used 10 water pumps to ensure its rice stays dry.
Many Internet users praised the factory as taking “visionary” actions on its own initiative to minimize damage, and it should serve as a reminder of how the government should encourage the public to approach the issue with an aim to reduce damage and recover quickly from climate disasters.
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