A newly formed barrier lake on Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in Hualien County appeared to have burst last night, with earlier warnings resulting in the evacuation of nearly 100 residents downstream.
At about 9pm, a micro-seismograph detected water movement suggesting a possible overflow, the Hualien branch of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said.
Photo courtesy of the Highway Bureau
By 9:30pm, the overflow had reached a temporary access bridge along Provincial Highway No. 9, the Highway Bureau's Eastern Region Branch Office said.
The 2m culvert remained intact, but silt and branches covered the road, it said, adding that it was expected to be cleared by about noon today.
The temporary bypass bridge was built after the Mataian River Bridge on Provincial Highway No. 9 collapsed during devastating flooding last month.
A total of 97 residents from the downstream Atomo community in Dongfu Village (東富) were evacuated by 7pm yesterday, the Guangfu Township Office said.
Although the 97 evacuees were relocated to either a township shelter or stayed with relatives, five other residents chose to move to the upper floor of their homes, the office said.
The temporary access road on Provincial Highway No. 9 was closed at 7:30pm, the office said.
According to Hualien County Government, the new lake formed earlier yesterday and was expected to overflow within 24 hours.
It has a capacity of about 600,000 tonnes of water, far smaller than the main Mataian River barrier lake about 1km upstream that overflowed and collapsed last month, causing 19 fatalities.
Additional reporting by Wang Chin-yi
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