Evacuations, traffic decongestion underway in wake of typhoon

Taipei, July 28 (CNA) Evacuations and traffic decongesting operations continue to take place in the wake of Typhoon Gaemi's disruption to traffic in Taiwan and its outlying islands, officials said Sunday.

Domestic flights between the outlying islands of Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu to and from Taiwan proper started flying on Friday and resumed their original schedule on Saturday.

Additional flights arranged by domestic carriers, as well as on AirForce C-130 military transport, will bring all stranded travelers home by Sunday night, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) said.

Meanwhile, ferry transport to and from Pingtung County's Liuqiu Island resumed on Sunday after being suspended for four days.

The first ferry at the Donggang Ferry terminal in Pingtung was prompted to depart seven minutes earlier than scheduled after it was packed with people and supplies for the island, ferry operator Dongliu Line Transportation Passenger Ship Cooperative said.

Elsewhere, in eastern Taiwan, the MOTC has arranged for the New Taima Ferry to sail between the Port of Su'ao in Yilan County and the Port of Hualien in Hualien County, given railway and highway traffic is blocked due to mudslides and fallen rocks.

The free transport service is scheduled to sail a one round-way trip daily from Sunday to Tuesday. The first trip departed Su'ao at 8 a.m. on Sunday, carrying 386 people, 41 small vehicles, two trucks and nine motorcycles, the Maritime Port Bureau said.

The bureau said those wishing to take the ferry, which seats 642 passengers, can book their seats via the bureau's official LINE account.

It is scheduled to depart from Su'ao at 9 a.m. on Monday and 10 a.m. on Tuesday. The first trip back from Hualien left at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday and two more will depart at 2 p.m. on Monday and 4 p.m. on Tuesday.

Most railway services have resumed, apart from services between Chiayi Station and Sinying Station in Tainan on the Western Main Line and between Heping and Chongde, both in Hualien, on the Eastern Main Line, according to the Taiwan Railway website.

Another 11 sections of Provincial Highways are blocked, said the MOTC, adding that repair operations are ongoing and will be completed by Aug. 1.

Meanwhile, the Chiayi branch of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said in a Sunday news release that Alishan Forest Railway branch lines, the Zhushan Line and the Shenmu Line, will resume operations on Monday, along with trains in the Alishan Forest Recreation Area.

Trains departing from Zhaoping Station will resume operations on Tuesday, while the main forest railway line will be under repair until the end of August, it said.