Heavy rain causes traffic disruptions in central, southern Taiwan

Taipei, Aug. 3 (CNA) Local governments in central and southern Taiwan on Sunday reported traffic disruptions in various areas, but said that work is underway to repair some damaged roads, as heavy rains continued to pound those regions.

Parts of southern Taiwan have been inundated with about 2,000 millimeters of rainfall since July 28, according to Central Weather Administration (CWA) data valid as of 9 a.m. Sunday.

In Kaohsiung, Deputy Mayor Charles Lin (林欽榮) said work was underway to repair a section of Kaohsiung Highway No. 146 that had collapsed. It is estimated to take two months to complete the repairs, he said.

Torrential rain has also caused the collapse of several roads in Tianliao District in the southern port city, according to the Kaohsiung Water Resources Bureau.

To prevent further collapse, work on those roads cannot commence until after the weather stabilizes, the bureau said.

Meanwhile, the Shei-Pa National Park Headquarters said that due to the nonstop rain over the past few days, a section of the Si-ma-hsian forest trail in Miaoli County had also collapsed.

The trail has been closed to vehicles but is expected to be repaired by Monday, the park said.

In Taichung, 14 hiking trails in the Dakeng Scenic Area have been closed since Thursday due to collapsed sections and landslides caused by record heavy rainfall.

The accumulated rainfall in the central city on Thursday was the highest daily total in 13 years, the Civil Affairs Bureau said.

Numerous landslides and rockslides have also occurred in the mountainous areas of Beitun, Fengyuan, Wufeng and Dongshi districts in Taichung, the bureau said.

Elsewhere in Taiwan, train travel has been affected by the weather, Taiwan Railway Corp. (TRC) said Sunday.

Flooding at Yulin County's Linnei Station caused the suspension of train services between Yulin's Douliu City and Changhua County's Ershui Township, but the services resumed at 5 p.m. Sunday, the TRC said.

Additionally, the heavy rains have resulted in the isolation of several rural communities across Taiwan.

Lee Chien-chang (李建璋), director of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Department of Information Management, said his department has been sending drones to deliver medicines to those communities.

As the rain continued to pound central and southern Taiwan on Sunday, the local governments in Nantou, Chiayi and Pingtung counties, as well as in Tainan and Kaohsiung, announced the suspension of work and school in a number of locations that are either prone to landslides or have been experiencing traffic disruptions.