Climate and Natural Disasters

Taiwan Town Faces Double Threats of Floods and Land Seizures

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By Andy Hsueh/Howard Chang/Irene Lin

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A year after a devastating barrier lake breach, persistent rainfall has left residents of Hualien's Guangfu Township on edge. While the government initiates a second phase of river embankment construction, a bitter dispute has emerged: Local farmers are accusing authorities of forcing them to lease private land to store excavated river mud, highlighting the tense trade-offs between regional disaster prevention and community property rights.

It’s been raining almost nonstop here in Guangfu Township in eastern Taiwan....

Right now, it’s business as usual... but the shadow of the devastating flood last year still looms... A barrier lake up in the mountains breached, unleashing tons of water that inundated the town, killing 19 people and leaving it covered in mud.

Since then, authorities have restored and raised the river embankment... but residents still feel anxious whenever it rains... as the sand and dirt up in the mountain remains a threat.

RESIDENT: "After the barrier lake breached last year everyone has been on edge. They haven't finished digging up there. We’re afraid that if a typhoon comes it will flood again."

RESIDENT: "The most important thing is to deal with the barrier lake. That’s the most important thing. Authorities have only worked on downstream areas and haven’t done anything about what’s still up there. I’ve lived here since I was little. We’re scared every time it rains."

The first stage of the embankment work is done... and authorities are starting construction of a second line of defense 200 meters away from the riverbank.

LIN HUNG-I, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, NINTH RIVER MANAGEMENT BRANCH, WATER RESOURCES AGENCY (Hualien, Taiwan): "The engineering plan was completed in April and bidding began in May. We hope work can begin on June 10. The first additional barrier should be done next May. The entire project should be done early next December."

As part of the broader Matai’an river flood prevention project... officials are seeking plots of land to store the mud that has accumulated in the riverbed.

An official notice and a land lease offer were sent to farmer Dalu Kati... looking to rent his riverside farmland for that purpose.

While Dalu has no issue with the proposed compensation... he says he feels pressured by the government to give up his land... even temporarily.

DALU KATI, FARMER (Hualien, Taiwan): "They’re forcing us to do it. They didn’t mention anything specific about renting or expropriating our land during the meetings. They even said that if everyone signed and I didn’t the government would still send mud here eventually. I’m finding it hard to let this go. We should be able to work our farms. That’s what’s better for us. It’s more practical."

Arborist Kin Cing is facing the same issue. Like many others... he refuses to sign the lease.

KIN CING, ARBORIST (Hualien, Taiwan): "They’re basically forcing us. The added pay doesn’t meet my needs. My trees take years and years to grow. The older they are, the more expensive they are. I had some pretty big trees but they were washed away and now I have nothing. And now they want to take my land. I don’t know what to do."

People at this self-help service desk say many farmers haven’t even received official notice.

Local officials from Guangfu are now urging the central government to hear the farmers’ concerns.

LAMEN PANAY, HUALIEN COUNTY COUNCILOR (Taipei): "The current plan is to rent plots of land 740 meters north of the Matai’an River. There were negotiations with farmers and landowners last week. In the future, they’ll go through the agreement framework and land expropriation. How to resolve locals’ worries with so many people who still want to keep their land and decide which parts of the land they can keep are all things the central government must face."

As the rains return to Guangfu... the central government now faces a delicate balancing act... trying to protect the town from future disasters without cutting off the locals from the land they hold dear.