Typhoon Doksuri devastated some of the smaller islands of Penghu County, destroying a nearly completed highway and cutting off the telecommunications services for days.
Two-thirds of the highway across Penghu’s General Islet (將軍嶼), which was scheduled to be completed by the end of next month, collapsed after being hit by the typhoon last week. A port pier also collapsed, causing some motorcycles to fall into the sea and destroying a ferry passenger’s waiting room.
The most serious damage was reported on Hua Islet (花嶼), which is Taiwan’s westernmost islet. The water intake units and pumps of the desalination plant get damaged, as communications were cut off for days. The seawall on the islet also collapsed, while its debris damaged the ships at the port.
Photo courtesy of Hsu Hsien-te
Communications on the islet were fully restored after Chunghwa Telecom repaired the telecommunications services.
The sign of Dongyuping Islet’s (東嶼坪嶼) fishing port was blown away by strong winds and an embankment road collapsed.
Meanwhile, multiple road damages due to seawater intrusion were reported on Dongji Island (東吉嶼).
Wangan Township Mayor Hsu Hsien-te (許賢德), Penghu County Councilor Chen Pei-jen (陳佩真) and other county officials are to travel to the islets in the South China Sea today to compile a damage report.
In related news, as of yesterday, the estimated agricultural loss was NT$92.57 million (US$2.95 million), and the area with crop damage was 2,474 hectares, the Council of Agriculture statistics said.
Kaohsiung is the city with most damage, as its estimated loss is NT$28.5 million. Bananas and watermelons are two products that were mainly affected, the council said.
The total loss of agricultural products and private facilities is estimated to be NT$94.42 million, the council said.
Kaohsiung’s loss is followed by NT$27.38 million in Hualien County, NT$26.37 million in Pingtung County, NT$4.86 million in Yunlin County, NT$3.24 million in Tainan and NT$293 million in Taitung County.
The product that suffered the biggest losses was bananas with estimated damage topping NT$27.35 million, followed by a NT$18.57 million loss in watermelons, NT$17.89 million loss in guavas, NT$11.92 million loss in rice and NT$4.65 million loss in edible corn, the council said.
The council also announced natural disaster relief funds for watermelon farmers in Hualien County’s Fonglin (鳳林) and Yuli (玉里) townships, and watermelon and cantaloupe farmers in Taitung County’s Guanshan (關山) Township.
The relief fund for watermelon farmers is NT$62,000 per hectare, while cantaloupe farmers can receive NT$80,000 per hectare, the council said, adding that farmers can apply to the town office within the jurisdiction of the announced area.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its