Flooding leads to office, school closures in Chiayi, Tainan, Yunlin

Taipei, July 28 (CNA) Flooding triggered by extremely heavy rainfall in central and southern Taiwan led to office and school closures in Chiayi County as well as parts of Tainan and Yunlin County on Monday.

A Level One flood alert has been issued for various districts and areas in Chiayi, including Singang Township and Puzi City, the county government said.

According to the Water Resources Agency, flood alerts indicate when water levels reach flooding point or the top of dikes, with Level One indicating that level will be reached in two hours.

Due to the extreme weather, the Alishan Forest Railway and several national parks, including the Alishan National Forest Recreation Area, are also closed until further notice as a precautionary measure.

Sections of Provincial Highways No. 82 and No. 175 in Chiayi have already been flooded and been cordoned off by police, with water reaching knee-height, the county government said.

In Yunlin, office and school closures have been announced for Shuilin Township on Monday due to numerous reports of flooding across the township.

Hsu Hung-po (許宏博), head of Yunlin County Water Resources Department, said heavy rain began the previous night, prompting emergency operations at the Beigang pumping station and the deployment of over 100 mobile pumps.

Nearly 300 millimeters of accumulated rainfall were recorded in Shuilin from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m., Hsu said.

Acting chief of Shuilin Township Chang Tung-kai (張東凱) said the sudden school and office closures were announced at 8 a.m. due to widespread flooding, adding that flood water as deep as 30 centimeters has been reported in various villages.

In Taichung, heavy rainfall also caused flooding in parts of the city's Da'an District, while Dajia District also experienced temporary power outages in the early morning.

In southern Taiwan, Tainan City government also announced office and school closures for Houbi District on Monday due to numerous instances of flooding caused by the torrential rain.

According to the Central Weather Administration (CWA), rainfall are expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan Monday night due to the effect of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds.

As of 9 a.m., Chiayi's Taibao had seen the highest accumulated rainfall with 356 mm, CWA forecaster Chu Mei-lin (朱美霖) said.

Over the last three hours, Taibao saw 255 mm of torrential rain, followed by Dajia in Taichung with 224 mm and Beigang in Yunlin with around 203 mm, Chu said.

Northern Taiwan and mountainous areas of Taitung could also experience brief showers or thunderstorms, with a chance of localized heavy rain, while Yilan and Hualien counties will be mostly cloudy, with isolated afternoon thunderstorms, the CWA said.

Temperature highs of 30 degrees Celsius are forecast in central and southern Taiwan, and 31-33 degrees in the north and eastern areas, it added.

Independent meteorologist Wu Der-rong (吳德榮) said based on the latest forecast models, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from Tuesday to Sunday due to the effect of southwesterly winds.

Unstable weather featuring isolated showers or thunderstorms can be expected during this period, Wu added.