Excessive amounts of rainfall was behind the destruction of Siaolin Village (小林), Kaohsiung County, which was wiped out during Typhoon Morakot, an official investigation report said yesterday, dismissing speculation that the tragedy was caused by a nearby water diversion project.
Extreme precipitation was also attributed to the collapses in Namasia (那瑪夏) and Taoyuan (桃源) townships in Kaohsiung County, the report by the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said.
Many local residents had suggested that vibrations and logging related to a water diversion project near Siaolin had caused the mountainside to weaken.
FACTORS
PCC Secretary-General Wu Guo-an (吳國安) said the inquest took into account different factors, 虹ncluding the water diversion project, the amount of rainfall, the large-scale landfalls, mudslides, flooding, barrier lakes, vacillation of tunnel drilling, logging, forestation and landfill.
FOOT OF THE MOUNTIAN
Because Siaolin was located at the foot of a mountain, torrential rain often led to mountain collapse or landslides, Wu said.
After making public the report on the cause of the disasters in Siaolin Village, Namasia and Toayuan townships yesterday, Wu said it would be sent to the Executive Yuan in the near future.
The PCC said Typhoon Morakot brought a record amount of rainfall.
In Siaolin alone, 1,856mm of rain fell in 72 hours, 156mm more than the critical amount it could bear.
The investigation report was commissioned by the PCC and National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction and conducted by a task force of experts, including Austrian tunnel specialists.
The PCC said it invited representatives from Siaolin Village, Namasia Township and Taoyuan Townshhip to participate in the initial stage of the investigation.
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