The government plans to monitor the geology at 34 risk-prone areas nationwide and establish early warning systems to protect residents in those areas and their property, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said on Tuesday.
Council Soil and Water Conservation Bureau Deputy Director Lin Chang-lin (林長立) said that rainstorms in Taiwan have been more intense and have lasted longer in recent years and could cause a “major catastrophe” similar to one that occurred in 2009.
That year, Typhoon Morakot dumped nearly 3m of rain on southern Taiwan in a matter of days, triggering a mudslide in Siaolin Village (小林) in Kaohsiung’s Jiasian Township (甲仙) that buried the village and left 462 residents dead.
Lin said the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Central Geological Survey has concluded that there are 34 risk-prone areas scattered across several cities and counties, including Taitung, Nantou and Chiayi.
“These areas will be the government’s priority in preventing disasters,” he said.
The council last year sent its plan to prevent catastrophes to the Executive Yuan, which was approved this year, Lin said.
A total of NT$3.4 billion (US$104.91 million) is to be budgeted from next year to 2020 to carry out the project, he said.
The project is to involve the installation of monitoring instruments in risk-prone and peripheral areas to collect information on these areas’ geologies and underground water levels in different climates.
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