Climate and Natural Disasters

Heavy Rain Triggers Landslides and Evacuations in Southern Taiwan

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By John Su/Irene Lin

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Continual heavy rainfall fueled by a low-pressure system and southwest monsoon winds has caused severe flooding, agricultural destruction and multiple landslides in southern Taiwan. In Pingtung County, collapsed retaining walls forced residents to leave their homes, while neighboring Kaohsiung recorded its highest single-month rainfall in nearly a century in August. The agriculture ministry estimates nationwide farm losses have surpassed US$8 million. As weather officials monitor Tropical Storm Saudel edging toward the Taiwan Strait, forecasters warn of further heavy rain and high waves in the coming days.

An excavator works to save this collapsed retaining wall in southern Taiwan’s Pingtung County... where there’s been three landslides over the past few days of nonstop rainfall...

Some residents are evacuating... afraid further landslides might bury their homes.

PINGTUNG RESIDENT:
"We’ve lived here for around 20 years. This is the first time the retaining wall’s collapsed. We’re evacuating to a hotel along with our pets."

Brought by a low-pressure system and strengthening southwestern monsoon... the destructive rain shows no sign of stopping...

The saturated ground threatens mountain neighborhoods...

And hundreds of residents have been moved to temporary shelters...

Farmers in Kaohsiung, to the north of Pingtung, can only watch their watermelons waste away in flooded fields...

KAOHSIUNG FARMER:
"Our crops are all dead. We’ll have to wait for better weather to replant. This was our last batch of the season. We can’t plant now."

The agriculture ministry says there’s been over eight million US dollars' worth of damage across Taiwan’s central, southern and eastern counties.

Meanwhile, weather officials are keeping an eye on two tropical storms moving closer to Taiwan...

They say the storms pose no major risks for now but may bring heavy waves at sea... and still more rain.

TSENG CHAO-CHENG, FORECASTER, CENTRAL WEATHER ADMINISTRATION:
"Tropical Storm Saudel will continue to move toward the Taiwan Strait. We may feel the effects of the storm’s outer bands in the coming days. As the storm approaches, combined with the effects of the southwest monsoon, it may bring large waves to Taiwan’s south, the Hengchun peninsula, and the islands of Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu. So you’ll need to be careful around the coast."

Authorities say Kaoshiung has recorded its most rainfall in a single month in nearly a century.

And with further stormy weather in the offing... they’re urging people to stay alert for the potential of more damage ahead.