New ways of thinking should be applied to the management of roads and highways in Hualien County, as its mountain slopes could remain unstable for the next seven to eight years, an official from the Directorate-General of Highways said after a rockfall damaged railway tracks near Heren Tunnel in the county’s Sioulin Township (秀林) yesterday.
Rockfalls and landslides have affected Suhua Highway and the North-link rail line more often than normal since a large earthquake in Hualien County on April 3.
The earthquake, which measured 7.2 on the Richter scale, struck 15km south of Hualien City and was the strongest temblor in Taiwan since 1999.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Railway Corp
A rock weighing an estimated 150 tonnes yesterday destroyed tracks near the tunnel. Heavy rain caused a landslide on Monday that buried part of the Suhua Highway between Heren (和仁) and Chongde (崇德).
The east railway line between the two communities has been temporarily closed, with trains running in both directions on the west line, Taiwan Railway Corp said.
There were multiple rockfalls and landslides last month, including a slide that led to the derailment of a New Tze-chiang Limited Express near the Cingshuei River (清水溪) on June 21.
April’s earthquake affected areas up to an altitude of 1,000m and resulted in unprecedented damage to the Suhua Highway and the Central Cross-lsland Highway, with much of the region’s vegetation ruined by slope collapses and falling rocks, Directorate-General of Highways official Lin Wen-hsiung (林文雄) said.
“Due to the damage, 10mm of rainfall could cause a rockfall, when it used to take 50mm to 60mm,” Lin said.
For example, only 1mm of rainfall led to the June 21 derailment, he said, adding that rockfalls are occurring almost every day on slopes along the Central Cross-lsland Highway, which passes through Taroko Gorge.
The slopes and roads in mountainous areas would “remain unstable for the following seven to eight years, or even 20 years” based on Japan’s experience after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake on Jan. 17, 1995, so “we should abandon outdated ideas and consider newly developed situations to manage roads and highways,” Lin said.
People will have to be prepared for land collapses for years to come, although senior officials say the rockfall situation might stabilize after typhoons clear unstable material, he said.
In addition to slope maintenance, rockfall barriers and fences should be added and more rock sheds, or open-cut tunnels, should be built on the roads that pass through Taroko Gorge, Lin said, adding that most of the engineering projects have already been outsourced to contractors.
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
One of two tropical depressions that formed offshore this morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. It is expected to move in a northwesterly direction as it continues building momentum, possibly intensifying into Typhoon Mitag this weekend, she added. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is expected to approach southeast of Taiwan on Monday and pass through the Bashi Channel between Tuesday and Wednesday,
About nine Taiwanese are “disappeared,” detained, or otherwise deprived of freedom of movement in China each month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Between Jan. 1 last year and Aug. 31 this year, 188 Taiwanese travelers went missing, were detained and interrogated, or had their personal freedom restricted, with some questioned in airports or hotel lobbies, the council said. In a statement ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the council urged people visiting China for any reason to be highly vigilant and aware of the risks. Of the reported cases, 50 people were “disappeared” after entering China, 19 were detained and 119 had
RSS