Alert on water supply and mudslides

Public offices, schools and private businesses resume normal operations today.

But people in northern Taiwan are advised to store and conserve water against possible water supply disruption after the heavy rains which are hampering the country’s water purification operations.

Government officials warned that those living in mountains and near the rivers should maintain high alert against possible mudslides, although the typhoon already left Taiwan for China.

One Thai laborer died and another was injured in Taipei County in a construction accident related to the fourth typhoon that hit the island this year.

With strong winds and heavy rains, Wipha also caused floods in some districts in northern Taiwan and disrupted transport and telecommunications services.

Water supply

Executives of the government-run Taiwan Water Corp. reported water supply to Hsinchu City was suspended because the water purification plant was forced to temporarily shut down due to the massive mud, sand, stones, and other materials which had been swept into the surging Touchian River, the water source for the water plant.

The water supply is expected to return to normal by noon today. The executives said the same situations can happen to other rivers to disrupt the normal operations of water plants in almost all areas except Taipei City, whose water comes from the Feitsui Reservoir, which has a more effective environmental conservation method for gathering a higher level of quality water.

They have already sent out an alert to 12 city and county governments, including Taipei County, Keelung City, Yilan County, Hualien County, Hsinchu County, Taoyuan County, Miaoli County, Taichung County, and Changhua County as well as major cities in the counties.

Fatal accident

One Thai laborer died and another was injured in an accident while working on an expressway overpass connecting Bali and Xindian in Taipei County, police said.

The victim, Umbun, 34, suffered a skull fracture. The injured 25-year-old Thai, whose name was not released, suffered a fractured left leg.

Police said that both men were illegal foreign laborers hired by a local contractor. Prosecutors are now looking into the matter to identify who should be held responsible. Concerned with the onslaught of Typhoon Wipha, the construction site foreman sent the two to the overpass to pick up timber, stones and other goods littering the site to ensure that the materials would not be blown onto the nearby freeway to cause accidents.

The two were about to climb down a 10-meter working ladder after finishing their work when the ladder suddenly collapsed, probably due to strong wind.

The two fell to the ground from a height equivalent to that of a six-story building.

Mudslide warnings

Past experiences show that the departure of a typhoon does not mean the end of all problems because dealing with the aftermath has always been a daunting task.

The number of rivers with “red alert code” — having high risk of mudflows and mudslides — was increased to more than 40 in the wake of continuing heavy rain triggered by the typhoon, officials at the Council of Agriculture’s Soil and Water Conservation Bureau warned.

The bureau also issued “yellow alert code” for 123 other rivers and creeks.

Several hundred of Aboriginals — the native Taiwanese— living in the mountainous regions, had been evacuated from swelling river water and precarious areas threatened by mudslides.

Close to 5,000 mainland Chinese hired by Taiwan fishing companies were brought on shore for safe shelters.

Mass evacuations

1|2|Next Page>>

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email