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Wulai's recovery after the typhoon disaster is slow, with many problems of blackened and yellowed water supply

General News By Emily Carter 0 views

This year on Father's Day, Typhoon Soudelor dealt a heavy blow to Wulai

They had hoped the existing water pipe would finally be reconnected, but when they turned on the tap, the water that came out was murky; as the bucket gradually filled, the water became even grayer and yellower. Xinxian Village residents Chen Meifeng and Lin Qiuling said in unison that water like this was barely acceptable for washing dishes and clothes, and using it to bathe would make one's whole body uncomfortable.

Two months after the typhoon, Wulai is still shut down

Typhoon Soudelor swept across Taiwan, causing large-scale landslides in the Wulai mountain area covering as much as 87.08 hectares. The Guangxing area of Zhitan in Xindian, Zhongzhi Village, the Huanshan Trail in the Wulai hot spring tourism area, and Xinxian Village were all among the more severely affected landslide areas.

More than 2 months later, the reporter revisited the Wulai mountain area. On Xinwu Road, near the section close to the Rihyueguang Hot Spring Villa, a massive retaining wall still stood, and the sections along the road where the foundation had been hollowed out were filled with steel bars to secure the roadway. A young farmer surnamed Jiang, who originally raised chickens in the mountains, had also come down to help direct traffic and rebuild homes.

The deserted Wulai Old Street tourism area had only been hit again 2 weeks earlier by a debris flow brought by Typhoon Dujuan. Shopkeepers were busy clearing mud and sand and lamented: "The road over by the sightseeing train has never been repaired, we simply can't do business, and we've been shut down for almost 2 months now."

News Glossary

Simple piped water system: In many places, due to limitations such as higher terrain or insufficient water supply capacity from the water utility's system, mountain spring water, stream water, or groundwater must be drawn as drinking water sources, maintained by a management committee formed by residents. Because the filtration system is less complete than that of a general piped water system, once heavy rain falls, residents using simple piped water still have to face the problem of turbid water.

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