The Taipei Department of Environmental Protection today fined the organizer of the S2O Songkran Music Festival NT$45,000 after receiving 55 noise complaints from residents.
The festival took place at Dajia Riverside Park in Taipei on Saturday and Sunday from 1pm to 10pm each day.
Photo courtesy of Blowin' in the Wind
The department received 17 complaints on Saturday and 38 complaints on Sunday.
Immediately after receiving the complaints, officials were sent to the festival, where they determined the noise levels to be in contravention of the Noise Control Act (噪音管制法), the department said in a statement.
A resident surnamed Hsieh (謝) said that he could hear "a rhythmic, low frequency noise" that apparently came from loud music during the festival in his home near Dahu Park in neighboring Neihu District (內湖), nearly 10km away from the festival.
Some elderly people were also feeling unwell or had palpitations from the noise, he said.
In response to the incident, Taipei Hydraulic Engineering Office officials said they would examine the complaints and try to make improvements.
Taipei City Councilor Ho Meng-hua (何孟樺), a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, said that if noise issues related to large musical events were not solved, it would be hard for such shows to "coexist" with residents in densely populated Taipei.
She recommended that the city consult professionals on how to reduce unwanted effects such as reverberations, vibrations and echoes, and to consider stipulating rules to prevent similar incidents in the future.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS