Plans to Make Flooded Areas More Resilient Amid Cleanup

REPORTER:  

Recovery efforts are underway in parts of Hualien County hit by Tropical Depression Fung-wong. The storm brought a second round of flooding to an area still reeling from a deadly surge of water in September. Officials now have plans to better contain the river responsible for both disasters.

REPORTER:  

Members of the military join civilians to help clean up after Tropical Depression Fung-wong. The storm brought yet more misery to parts of Hualien County hit by a deadly flood in September.

REPORTER:  

But, just like after that disaster, volunteers from across the country have come with shovels in hand, working to clear away the muck.

I came from Hsinchu. I drove myself.  

I’ll move however much mud I can.  

I came from Changhua to Wanrong Township to help people clear the mud away.

REPORTER:  

If there’s one thing the past few months have shown, it’s that the Matai’an River that runs through the area is a hazard. In September, rubble blocked its flow, forming a natural dam that then burst. The surge of water into nearby residential areas killed 19 people—though several more are still missing.

REPORTER:  

And in this week’s storm, it flooded twice, damaging the communities around it. There are plans though—both to rebuild, and to make sure this kind of flooding doesn’t happen again.

Minister Without Portfolio Chi Lien-cheng (MINISTER WITHOUT PORTFOLIO):  

He's promising relief for some affected areas and ordering temporary fixes for infrastructure the floods destroyed.  

We’ll speed up the building of a temporary steel pipe bridge so we can tear down the other [temporary] culvert bridge at the end of January.  

Before next year’s flood season the water will be able to flow smoothly past this steel pipe bridge [on downstream].

REPORTER:  

Both dikes and dredging the river show promise too: work done after the September flood may have saved the region from even worse destruction this week. And the Water Resources Agency says it will quickly do even more work to keep the river from bursting its banks.

We’ll build this embankment up to five meters high within a week.  

Another important project is changing the river’s route.  

This will be finished in the next two days.

REPORTER:  

Monitors watching the river from above say the danger to nearby residents is receding. The hope now is that the new projects will be enough to tame the river for good.