Climate and Natural Disasters

Ministry Plans To Revive Mud-Covered Farmlands in Guangfu

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By Kris Ma/Irene Lin

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Three weeks after a burst dam buried Guangfu Township in Hualien County with mud, life has mostly gone back to normal, with the exception of farmlands close to the Matai’an River. The agriculture ministry has proposed plans to revive the fields but these could require years.

Guangfu township in Eastern Taiwan is gradually recovering three weeks after a destructive dam breach and subsequent flooding. Cleanup and subsidy distribution are mostly done, and schools are open for in-person classes. But many farmers are still waiting for authorities to remove layers of mud from their fields, which could take years.

REPORTER:  

At the official one-stop service desk set up in Guangfu, flood victims line up to apply for subsidies and missing documents. Officials have approved more than 90% of the applications submitted by local households and are preparing to return to their regional headquarters.

It has now been three weeks since Typhoon Ragasa brought torrential rains to Eastern Taiwan, leading to a barrier lake in Hualien’s mountains overflowing and flooding downstream communities and farms.

Authorities have not yet lowered their highest-level alert for the lake. Before they can do that, officials first need to finalize an emergency evacuation plan and practice it with local residents. Authorities say they are still working with the county government on some details.

Chi Lien-cheng (MINISTER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO):  

My goal is [to finalize the plan] this week  

but we respect the county government’s concerns.  

We’ll find a time for a tabletop exercise.  

After that, we will have an in-person drill.

While the streets and homes are cleared up, local farmers are worried about their livelihoods, as their fields remain buried in mud. The agriculture ministry says researchers have found little damage to the soil underneath and that it would not affect growth in the future. But questions remain on how to deal with the mud and potentially how to divide and redistribute the plots.

Chen Chi-chung (AGRICULTURE MINISTER):  

Flooded areas in Guangfu and Fenglin  

total between 775 and 800 hectares.  

[The mud in] some places is ten centimeters deep  

while some can reach depths of five to six meters.

As of Monday, 19 people are confirmed dead, and five remain missing. But things are looking up in Guangfu.

Since the disaster, the local train station has seen unprecedented traffic, from about a thousand travelers a day before the storm, to a recent peak of 50 thousand, thanks to volunteers from all over coming to help.

At the Matai’an river, a temporary river crossing was finally opened on Friday, which has allowed larger vehicles to access the area.

Now with the initial recovery work wrapping up and some traffic beginning to flow again, the next stage may involve bringing home displaced residents, even as restoring their livelihoods could be a years-long effort.