Thu, Aug 02, 2001 page2

• Analysts say much of the disaster was preventable

  AVERTING TRAGEDY Specialists allege that failure to do key mudslide prevention work after the 921 earthquake contributed to the typhoon's damage

  • By Chiu Yu-Tzu / STAFF REPORTER
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  As political figures rushed into the disaster-struck areas of Nantou and Hualien counties in the aftermath of Typhoon Toraji, condemnation of the government's failure to carry out mudslide prevention work was being voiced throughout the nation.

  Disaster prevention experts from National Cheng Kung University told the Taipei Times yesterday that the government had "missed great opportunities to prevent predictable tragedies" caused by mudslides in central Taiwan.

  Meanwhile, conservationists said that the construction of dams and embankments on dangerous rivers, carried out under a six-year national project starting in 1989, had damaged the ecology in mountainous areas of Hualien County.

  Shieh Chjeng-lun (謝正倫), a civil engineering professor at the university, yesterday investigated disaster areas in Hualien and discovered that water and land preservation work carried out there needed improvement.

  "What has been done since the government listed Tahsing River (大興溪) as a dangerous river ten years ago?" Shjeng said.

  Shieh said that the embankments built on the river were not designed to withstand heavy rain.

  Several villages near dangerous rivers in Hualien County were hit by mudslides, caused by heavy rain brought by Typhoon Toraji.

  Tahsing village (大興村), which sits beside the menacing river, was almost buried by mudslides. As of yesterday, 24 Hualien County residents had been confirmed dead.

  Chung Pao-chu (鍾寶珠), a conservationist from Taiwan Environmental Protection Union's Hualien Chapter, said the government had spent NT$2.4 billion on a six-year national project to treat rivers in Hualien County, but that the project had not been successful.

  "In fact, it damaged ecological systems in mountain areas," said Chung, adding that the government "should not have attempted to force rivers to go against the nature of water."

  In Nantou County, which was severely hit by the 921 earthquake, the situation was even worse. Experts warned several times after the earthquake that loose earth on the top of Chiufenerh Mountain (九份二山) -- near the epicenter of the massive temblor -- might be turned into mudslides by heavy rain.

  The government, however, has done nothing since the 921 earthquake to relocate residents of Nankang village (南港村), Kuohsing township (國姓鄉), less then one kilometer from the mountain. Residents have also continued to plant crops on the mountain.

  Li Shui-fu (李水富), 45, a farmer who has spent his whole life in the village, said that Typhoon Toraji destroyed his plum, loquat and papaya fields that were on the mountain. "Now I will have to work as a temporary employee on construction sites," Li said.

  Mudslide prevention experts said that mudslides had been trig-gered by the rain with far greater ease than previously was the case in central Taiwan as a result of the 921 earthquake. They said the situation could remain serious for the next two to three decades.

  The government was criticized by specialists yesterday for its failure to act after 56 small-scale mudslides occurred in the area in 2000. They said they should have been regarded as precursors of future catastrophe.

  "In addition, having only 18 stations monitor more than 780 streams listed as dangerous by the government is absolutely impossible," said Shieh, also head of the Cheng Kung University's Disaster Prevention Research Center.

  Shieh said that simultaneous, multi-pronged, mudslide disaster prevention operations must be carried out, and that residents in vulnerable areas should be encouraged to leave.

  He also said that legislation prohibiting people from entering potentially dangerous areas, improving monitoring systems and building strong embankments using advanced technologies are also measures that should be taken to avoid such tragedies in the future.

  But the government's position did not converge with that of the experts.

  Premier Chang Chun-hsung (張俊雄) announced his determination to establish a cross-agency task force to overcome problems created by mudslides with the goal of "eventually ridding Taiwan of mudslides."

  Conservationists condemned the premier's remark as a misleading attempt to provide consolation.

  "Mudslides are inevitable. Taiwan is an island characterized by earthquakes, typhoons, torrential rain and fragile land," said Lin Sheng-zhong (林聖崇), head of the Ecology Conservation Alliance.

  Lin said that humans should be humble in the face of nature.

  "We can't possibly have an omnipotent government, but we can at least have one responsible enough to inform people of places susceptible to potential dangers," Lin said.
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