Local author finds 'rebirth' in Hualien flood disaster

Taipei, Sept. 29 (CNA) Local author Hawk Rumaling was writing as usual on his computer at his home in Guangfu Township in Hualien County on Sept. 23 when potentially lethal floodwaters moved in.

By the time his ordeal was over, many of his treasured possessions were destroyed, but he survived and saw the disaster as a "rebirth."

The floodwaters last Tuesday rushed into Guangfu Township when the Matai'an Creek barrier lake overflowed due to heavy rains from Typhoon Ragasa. At least 18 people have perished because of the disaster.

The author, whose real name is Lin Ming-hua (林明華), was nearly one of the casualties. The 76-year-old writer told CNA on Monday that he first heard the rushing water and saw it rising when he checked his front door.

Moving to the back, he saw a torrent pouring toward the house from Guang-fu Junior High School's baseball field, he recalled.

Before he could react, the refrigerator was already being lifted by the flood. By the time he prepared to flee upstairs, the water had risen to his waist, he said.

As he struggled up to the second floor, the muddy current was close behind. He avoided looking back, fearing he might grow dizzy and fall.

Lin said he was forced to shelter upstairs overnight until neighbors rescued him the following day.

Though he survived, the floodwaters submerged Lin's main writing tool, his computer, and several films and documentaries he had shot and preserved since the 1980s, according to Liu Liu Shu-chin (劉柳書琴), the owner of the residence and a professor at National Tsing Hua University's Institute of Taiwan Literature.

His collection of over 30,000 books was also muddied and destroyed.

Yet despite the widespread damage, Lin saw a silver lining, viewing the situation as a "rebirth" and that he felt "more easy and free," as he has had read all of the books and understood that the age of e-books has arrived.

According to Liu Liu, Lin, also a director, has formed close ties with Hualien's Indigenous performing artists and sculptors, and he has advocated that educators take students into natural and historical settings.

Lin's works included fiction, grassroots history and scripts. He has also served as program planner, writer and director at the Public Television Service, the Broadcasting Development Foundation and the Chinese Television System.