'Red' flood alert to be issued Thursday afternoon for Hualien barrier lake

Taipei, July 16 (CNA) A barrier lake upstream of the Wanli River in Hualien County is expected to overflow Friday morning, which will prompt a flood warning at 3 p.m. Thursday to allow sufficient time for evacuations, according to the Central Emergency Operations Center (CEOC).

As of 9 a.m. Thursday, the lake was 96.76 percent full, holding about 4.93 million metric tons of water, according to the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency's (FANCA) Hualien Branch.

With the continued inflow of water from upstream in the Wanli River, the lake is likely to start overflowing at around 8 a.m. Friday, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Hu Jong-i (胡忠一) told reporters after a weekly Cabinet meeting.

The barrier lake, which was discovered on June 21, had initially been filling up at 7,200 metric tons per hour, but the inflow has slowed to 6,200 metric tons per hour, Huang Chun-tse (黃群策), director of the FANCA Hualien Branch, said at a CEOC meeting, citing the Chinese Association of Fire Protection.

While no heavy rainfall is forecast in the lake's watershed, and the natural dam remains stable, the lake is expected to slowly flood its banks, posing a threat to the residents in the nearby areas, authorities said.

● Water level meter installed at Hualien barrier lake to improve monitoring

Minister Without Portfolio Chi Lien-cheng (季連成), who was also at the CEOC meeting, said it was decided that the "red" flood alert -- warning of severe flooding -- should be issued at 3 p.m. Thursday to give local authorities sufficient time to move residents to higher levels.

The local governments will sound warning sirens at that time, and military personnel will assist village officials in the evacuation process, ensuring that no one is left downstream near the river, Chi said, adding that he has already issued those directives.

Despite the forecast of a gradual overflow, the possibility of a sudden breach of the barrier lake cannot be ruled out, he said. Therefore, Hualien's disaster response center will maintain a Level 3 alert, and areas downstream will remain restricted warning zones, he added.

As of Wednesday afternoon, about 210 residents in downstream warning zones in Fenglin and Wanrong townships had been evacuated to two shelters, where five days' worth of essential supplies had been prepared, according to local authorities.