New flood fears spook evacuees after Super Typhoon Ragasa kills 17 in Taiwan
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HUALIEN, Taiwan – Residents in an eastern Taiwan town took to shelters on Sept 24, fearing further disaster after flooding from a strong typhoon killed 17 people, as Premier Cho Jung-tai called for an inquiry into what went wrong with evacuation orders.
Sub-tropical Taiwan, frequently hit by typhoons, normally has a well-oiled disaster mechanism that averts mass casualties by moving people out of potential danger zones quickly.
But many residents in Guangfu, an inundated town in the beauty spot of Hualien that is popular with tourists, said there was insufficient warning when the lake overflowed during torrential rain on Sept 23 brought by Super Typhoon Ragasa.
Mr Cho said the immediate priority was to find those still missing – a number that was revised down to 17 after he spoke – but questions remained.
“We must investigate why evacuation orders were not carried out in the designated areas,” he told reporters in Guangfu, referring to those who died.
“This is not about assigning blame, but about uncovering the truth.”
The barrier lake, formed by landslides triggered by earlier heavy rain in Taiwan’s sparsely populated east, burst its banks in the afternoon on Sept 23, sending a wall of water into the township of Guangfu.
Resources were insufficient to help relocate those with disabilities, said Ms Lamen Panay, a Hualien councillor, who added that government evacuation requests before the flood had not been mandatory.
Referring to guidance for people to head to higher floors, she said: “What we were facing wasn’t something ‘vertical evacuation’ could resolve.”
As heavy rain continued on and off in Hualien, police cars sounded sirens for a new flood warning in Guangfu on Sept 24, sending people scrambling for safer areas as residents and rescuers shouted: “The flood waters are coming, run fast.”
The water hit like a “tsunami”, said Guangfu postman Hsieh Chien-tung, who was able to flee to the second floor of the post office just in time. Later, he returned home to find his car had been swept into the living room.
Fire officials said all the dead and missing were in Guangfu, where the waters swept away a major road bridge across a river.
Mr Wang Tse-an said his entire village of Dama, home to about 1,000 people in the township, had been flooded and many were still stranded.
“It’s chaotic now,” Mr Wang, the village chief, told Reuters, adding that the most important task was to get people to safety in shelters, while supplies could not get through.
“There are mud and rocks everywhere. Some flooding has subsided but some remain.”
Military on the scene
Regions across Taiwan have sent rescue teams to Hualien, with the military sending 340 troops to help.
In Guangfu, soldiers moved around in an armoured personnel carrier to avoid the thick mud on the streets as they distributed water and instant noodles to homes.
About 5,200 people, or about 60 per cent of Guangfu’s population, sought shelter on the higher floors of their own homes while most of the rest left to stay with their families, government data showed.
The government estimated that the barrier lake contained 91 million tonnes of water, enough to fill some 36,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools and the equivalent of a major reservoir in southern Taiwan.
The lake overflowed to release about 60 million tonnes of water, the government said.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office offered condolence in a rare sign of goodwill from Beijing, which has a deep dislike of Taipei’s government.
China views Taiwan as its own territory, despite the strong objections of the island’s democratically elected government.
Hualien’s wilderness beauty makes it one of Taiwan’s top tourist draws. It is also home to many members of the island’s indigenous groups, including the Amis.
The typhoon brought about 70cm of rain to Taiwan’s east, though the populous west coast, home to the crucial semiconductor industry, was not affected.
In 2009, Typhoon Morakot cut a swathe of destruction through southern Taiwan, killing about 700 people and causing damage of up to US$3 billion (S$3.9 billion). REUTERS
