TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Nantou County’s Renai Township faced the worst of landslides and floods Saturday (Aug. 5), while school and office closures expanded to neighboring Xinyi Township and to parts of Miaoli County.
Falling rocks, mudslides, and flooding were reported across central Taiwan. A section of the Central Cross-Island Highway near Guguan in Taichung City was impassable mainly due to the fall of a chunk of rock measuring 500 cubic meters.
A total of 1,200 cubic meters needed to be removed from the road, with work made difficult by the location and by the persistent heavy rain. The task was expected to take at least until Aug. 10, per CNA.
Residents looking to leave nearby Lishan were advised to take another road in the direction of Yilan County to the northeast to exit the area, as the Puwu Highway between Puli and Wushe has also been hit by numerous landslides. The Guguan area recorded 153 millimeters of rain in 24 hours.
Renai Township reported the highest rainfall in the country, 1,033 mm from Aug. 3 to Aug. 5 at 8:50 a.m., per CNA. Mud and rocks buried a gas station in Renai’s Nanfeng Village, with traffic over at least six main roads in the township interrupted, leaving travelers stranded in Wushe.
Similar reports emerged from other parts of Nantou County, which is usually one of Taiwan’s top weekend tourist destinations. To the north, four sites in Taichung City and Miaoli County face critical flooding conditions, CNA reported.
Typhoon Khanun moved away in the direction of Japan, with the Central Weather Bureau lifting land and sea warnings on Friday morning. However, heavy rain continued to fall in several parts of Taiwan, including the central mountainous areas often plagued by landslides and rockfalls.
According to the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration, Xinyi Township joined its neighbor Renai in shutting down its offices and schools from 11 a.m. Saturday.
To the north, Miaoli County said the township of Sanyi was closing. In Chiayi County, Alishan, Meishan, and Zhuqi shut down, while the Kaohsiung City districts of Jiaxian, Liugui, Taoyuan, Maolin, and Namaxia were continuing the closures that had started Friday for a second consecutive day.
The heavy rain across central Taiwan came in the wake of Typhoon Khanun, which was moving away in the direction of Japan and had been downgraded to a severe tropical storm Saturday morning, the Central Weather Bureau said. Southwesterly winds added to the precipitation in the southwest and center of the country.
