Landslides force closure of Hualien section on provincial highway

Taipei, May 20 (CNA) Landslides caused by heavy precipitation in Hualien County on Tuesday forced the closure of a section of Provincial Highway No. 9 in the eastern Taiwan county, according to the Highway Bureau.

The bureau said in a statement that strong afternoon heat convection led to heavy rain with an accumulated 52.5 millimeters falling in just one hour around the Qingshui Cliffs in Taroko National Park on the coast of Hualien.

After the downpour, landslides occurred at the 164.5 kilometer mark and the 162.9 km mark on the highway Tuesday afternoon, prompting the closure of two way traffic between Heren and Chongde in Hualien starting from 4:30 p.m., the bureau said.

It said that personnel using large-sized vehicles were working to restore traffic around Chongde, with traffic between Heren and Chongde expected to be restored around 9 p.m.

On Sunday, flood waters and landslides amid heavy rain also interrupted traffic on the Heren-Chongde section of Taiwan Railway's line with both northbound and southbound traffic stopped.

Currently, Hualien-bound trains from Taipei are only available from Taipei to Su'ao and Taipei-bound trains from Taitung are only running from Taitung to Hualien, according to the railway company.

To carry more passengers on its eastern line, Taiwan Railway said Tuesday that it has added trains with unreserved seats from Taipei to Su'ao and additional trains with unreserved seats from Taitung to Hualien have also been available since Tuesday afternoon.

Taiwan Railway said the company has been gearing up to fix the Heren-Chongde railway section and expects one way traffic to be restored on Wednesday and two-way traffic on Saturday.

Due to the serious disruption of both highway and railway traffic, many tourists who plan to go to Taipei have had to take a train along the South Link Line to southern Taiwan and then a train or the highway from Kaohsiung in the west to Taipei. Alternatively, they can fly to Taipei.

Speaking with reporters, Transportation Minister Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) said the ministry will arrange more flights for passengers Tuesday and Wednesday, and additional ships will be made available from Wednesday.

According to the Central Weather Administration, a heavy rain alert or extremely heavy rain alert has been announced for Yilan, Hualien and Taitung in the east.

An extremely heavy rain advisory warns of over 200 mm of rain in 24 hours or 100 mm in three hours, while a heavy rain advisory means over 80 millimeters of rain within 24 hours or more than 40 millimeters in a single hour is expected.