Flood and mudflow prevention engineering work around dams created by landslides during the 921 earthquake will be completed within three weeks, Chairman of the Council of Agriculture, Hsi-huang (
During a field inspection of disaster areas in Nantou County yesterday morning -- including the famous landslide dam formed on Chiufenerh Mountain (
"The safety of the barrier lake should not be an issue now because the spillways we originally built have been reinforced," said Chen, referring to the channels that drain excess water that might otherwise cause the dam to overflow during the forthcoming typhoon season.
PHOTO: LIN YOU-HUA, LIBERTY TIMES
"However, vulnerable villages in the lower part of the river must be protected by more fortifications, which will be completed by June 22," he said.
Officials from the council's Soil and Water Conservation Bureau (
"We are conducting engineering works to deal with the invisible deterioration of the dam caused by water erosion of the soil," said the bureau's director-general, Chen Chih-ching (
A number of underground streams have been discovered that surface downhill from the dam.
He said that engineers were also backfilling a number of holes dug after the quake by rescue teams searching for bodies that might have been buried in the landslide.
However, the director admitted he was worried that bad weather might slow the engineering works.
Council chairman Chen said that central Taiwan-based personnel, including forestry and water resources units, would cooperate with a new special commission to be launched on June 1.
The Cabinet-level Post-disaster Reconstruction Commission, composed of about 200 officials based in central Taiwan, was recently re-organized by Premier Tang Fei (
One priority for the commission is providing solutions to mudflow threats in mountainous areas.
Council chairman Chen said yesterday that a NT$200 million budget for supplementary issues had been earmarked for pro-active disaster-prevention measures, including flood and mudflow prevention engineering works.
Chen also visited several townships and villages in Nantou County, where more than 180 sites were listed as dangerously at risk from potential mudflows after the 921 earthquake.
Chen said that he had established 12 teams to manage these sites by building fortifications to prevent floods and mudflows.
Although the water catchments behind the landslide dams have stabilized, Chen said, the council would continue to monitor such sites and a long-term landslide hazard risk assessment and response plan has been developed.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
GEOPOLITICAL CONCERNS: Foreign companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Konica Minolta have pulled back their operations in China this year Foreign companies pulled more money from China last quarter, a sign that some investors are still pessimistic even as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing growth. China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped US$8.1 billion in the third quarter, data released by the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Friday. The gauge, which measures foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, was down almost US$13 billion for the first nine months of the year. Foreign investment into China has slumped in the past three years after hitting a record in 2021, a casualty of geopolitical tensions,
RSS