Tainan, Chiayi cancel urban resilience drill for typhoon recovery

Taipei, July 10 (CNA) The Tainan City Government on Thursday announced that the city's urban resilience drills scheduled for July 16 will be canceled to prioritize disaster relief and reconstruction after Typhoon Danas swept southern Taiwan.

The Chiayi City and County governments later announced the cancellation of their drills, which had been scheduled for July 15, for similar reasons.

Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) said at a press conference that efforts are underway to restore power and water to areas affected by Typhoon Danas. The storm caused outages for 282,000 households and downed over 600 utility poles.

As of 7 a.m. Thursday, 84 percent of power had been restored, with 44,000 homes still without electricity. Water was also cut off for 12,809 households, and some areas experienced low pressure due to power failures. Most water service has resumed, except in a few areas relying on water trucks.

Since July 5, the city has opened 29 shelters, accommodating 314 people in total. As of now, eight remain open, housing 53 people, according to the statement.

Huang said over 1,300 military personnel are supporting disaster relief despite ongoing Han Kuang drills, and that Deputy Mayor Yeh Tse-shan (葉澤山) has been sent to the Cabinet to request central government aid and equipment for faster recovery.

In Kaohsiung's mountainous areas, where an extremely torrential rain advisory is in effect through Thursday night, many roads and bridges have been closed as a precaution. Maolin District recorded 303.5 millimeters of rainfall between midnight and 11:30 a.m., according to the CWA.

The Agency of Rural Development and Soil and Water Conservation has identified more than 90 areas at risk of mudslides or large-scale landslides. Due to this threat, the city's Civil Affairs Bureau said 2,007 people have been evacuated as of Thursday noon.

In Pingtung's mountainous areas, where an extremely torrential rain warning is in effect, several roads have been closed as a precaution, the Highway Bureau said.

The CWA reported that 20 weather stations recorded over 200 mm of rain in 11 hours in the county, with New Majia station reaching 391 mm.

Due to the heavy rain, offices and schools were closed on Thursday in eight townships, and evacuations began in Manjhou Township's Parius area at 8 a.m.

In Taitung County, where an extremely torrential rain warning is in place, roads in Daren and Dawu townships have been flooded or blocked by mudslides, the Highway Bureau said.

Offices and schools in the two townships were closed Thursday, the county government announced early that morning.

The Highway Bureau said that traffic restrictions due to mudslides and road erosion are expected to remain until Sunday evening.