Zhangtan Village flooded, residents unable to return home; water pumps fail, worsening the disaster; volunteers cook hot meals

Chiayi County was the hardest-hit area in this August 23 heavy rain disaster, with the coastal Dongshi Township suffering severe damage; crops, fish ponds and livestock farms were all affected. Zhangtan Village at the southernmost tip was once flooded to the height of one story, forcing residents to evacuate the village. Residents are currently staying temporarily at a nearby temple, and it is the only disaster area still "homeless" after six days of flooding. Residents still feel lingering fear when recalling the flooding. Many fishermen are also worried about their fish ponds; apart from sleeping at night, they insist on returning home during the day to inspect their fish ponds.

Zhangtan Village is located at the southernmost edge of Dongshi Township, with nearly three hundred households in total, about 80 percent of which are engaged in aquaculture, farming milkfish, tilapia, Taiwan tilapia, white shrimp and grouper, and there are also many oyster farmers. Zhangtan Village is made up of two communities, Baishuihu and Zhangtan, and more than half of the residents are elderly people over fifty or sixty years old with limited mobility. Facing this major disaster, residents united to save themselves. As soon as residents of the higher-lying Baishuihu community heard that neighboring Zhangtan was flooded, they immediately brought bamboo rafts to rescue people and quickly carried the elderly out.

Local residents pointed out that the collapse of the embankment and the failure of the water pumps were the biggest causes of the flooding, directly criticizing that the water pumps should not have been installed at a high location, which made it impossible to pump water immediately when low-lying areas flooded, and that the water pumps lacked routine maintenance, so it was only discovered when the flood occurred that the machines could not operate, losing precious rescue time.

(Updated to the 26th) Heavy rain disaster! Pigs flee for their lives and die in the rushing currents, tens of thousands of chicks cry out and perish, farmers collect the bodies with aching hearts

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