Taroko National Park still closed as barrier lake work continues

Taipei, Oct. 21 (CNA) Hualien County's Taroko National Park remains closed to the public as excavation work on a roadside barrier lake continues, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency (FANCA) said on Tuesday.

The risk posed by the landslide dam on the Liwu River led to the evacuation of over 900 residents and the closures of Taroko Park and part of Provincial Highway No. 8 on Oct. 17.

After Monday night's rainfall, the barrier lake's water level rose from 4.8 meters below the top of the dam the previous day to 2.94 meters below, Huang Chun-tse (黃群策), head of FANCA's Hualien Office, told reporters Tuesday morning.

Huang said that current operations at the lake focus on clearing out operation space for workers to evacuate to in case flooding endangers workers and the machinery.

The ultimate goal is to dig down 10 meters of the dam's upper edge so that it is lower than the highway to reduce the dam body's threat, he said.

Because rocks keep falling during excavation, operations are broken up in stages and it is unclear when they will be completed, he added.

Meanwhile, heavy rain advisories in effect from Tuesday morning through early Wednesday morning were issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA).

Torrential rain advisories, warning of rainfall exceeding 350 millimeters in 24 hours or over 200 mm in three hours, were issued for Keelung City and mountainous areas of Taipei, New Taipei and Yilan County.

Extremely heavy rains that exceed over 200 mm in 24 hours or over 100 mm in three hours are forecast for Taipei, New Taipei, Yilan County as well as mountainous areas in Taoyuan and Hsinchu County.

In Taoyuan, Hsinchu County, Miaoli County and Hualien County, the CWA issued heavy rain advisories that warn of rainfall exceeding 80 mm within 24 hours or over 40 mm of rain in one hour.

CWA forecaster Kuan Hsin-ping (官欣平) said that the rain will be heaviest on Tuesday and Wednesday, but continued precipitation may persist into Friday or Saturday.