‘No warning’, say Taiwan residents after typhoon bursts mountain lake

When the flood water came from the mountain, Awa and her husband tried to reach their car – but it was too late.

“It was like a river outside and the cars were floating. Everything began to drift.” The couple resorted to the second floor of their store in the town of Guangzfo, in an attempt to save the largest possible number of books.

“I am still shocking. I can’t imagine how this could have happened,” she said.

Like many Taiwanese, Awa rejoiced from the unexpected deadly destruction caused by Rajasa Super Hurricane, although Al -Jazeera was not on the direct path of The strongest storm the world witnessed this year.

Huang Zhao Chen, deputy commander of the Central Emergency Operation Center in Taiwan, said that the violation of the barrier lake – which was formed after the landslides caused by another banned hurricane in Wadi Jabali away in July – is the main cause of the widespread damage in the Eastern Province in Haleen.

The people who were on the path of the deadly wall of the water that swept on the side of the mountain were a little chance because it was washing the bridge, the uprooting trees and immersed vehicles.

Many of those who died were the elderly, trapped with water that rises to their homes.

Matai’an Creek Barrier Lake About 11 km (7 miles) away from the estuary societies.

She kept about 91 million tons of water, which is enough to fill 36,000 Olympic swimming pools. About three quarters of that water was suddenly launched after the lake exploded on Tuesday, killing at least 14 people and wounding 32 others. Forty -six people are still missing.

Emergency services said that the water was depth in Guangzfo, which is the worst city. The height of the second floor of the house increased in some places and was about one floor in the city depth.

Chen Wayne Chan, a professor of honorary geology at Taiwan National University, said that the water of the lake explosion could be compared to a tsunami.

“The kinetic energy can be greater than a tsunami energy. The flow speed can exceed 100 km/h [62mph] In the hour, he told BBC. “Although energy decreases as soon as it reaches the plains, it is still strong and fast – much further than what can be dealt with by the model fed.”

The survivors in Guangzvz said that they had not received any warning from the authorities immediately before the disaster was invoked.

But Professor Chen said that the academic community seemed a warning bell before Universities were closely monitoring the level of the lake water, the barrier I worked with the authorities on emergency plans.

“With the approaching hurricane, we can estimate the rains. We knew that water could surpass the lake this time. Part of the dam collapsed, causing a large amount of water. But even this volume was among our estimates,” he said.

“The inhabitants’ not evacuating the population is one of the factors that make the disaster very severe. “

On Monday, September 22, a day before Rajasa approached the island, the Halien authorities issued warnings, postponed about 7,000 people and established three evacuation centers. Meanwhile, the central government has repeatedly urged the boycott administration to accelerate evacuations.

But the evacuation is “not mandatory” and local officials only invited the public to go to higher land.

Shortly before 15:00 local time (07:00 GMT) was on Tuesday when the lake exceeded the barrier. Officials expected that the flood water would take two hours to reach the populated areas in the direction of the river, and people who live near the river will be affected.

But within an hour, huge amounts of water were flowing to the town of Guangzfo, where 12,000 people lived.

“There were no special warnings of the floods and not broadcast,” a high school principal in Guangzfo told the BBC provided that his identity was not disclosed. The school was appointed to an evacuation center, so it was originally assigned to help them pass.

He said he just finished lunch at about 15:00 when he heard that the lake had exploded.

“Within 10 minutes, the water extended to the campus from the street. Sports land with an area of ​​400 miles was immersed,” he said. Chairs, tables, refrigerators, and even cars were floating soon.

“If you are still on the street, I will not be able to reach a higher ground. There were a lot of things that float in the water. He could have been injured or even electricly.”

The official said that the officials may have reduced the influence of Rajasa – the lake did not violate its banks when a hurricane hit last month.

Since last week, the mayor of the province, Hsu Chen Way, was on a trip to South Korea to promote tourism. She returned to Hualien on Monday evening – according to what was reported after a call from the Minister of Interior.

Those are like Awa and her husband in the library, and the school official, they managed to reach safety in a timely manner.

But many flood victims were the elderly. Most of the bodies are found on the ground floor of the houses, according to the local media.

AWA said: “Rural elderly residents usually receive information by communicating from door to door. It is not clear how local authorities informed them and run the situation.” The population of Halien is advanced, and many of its largest population are older and do not use smartphones.

“Many of the elderly residents of bedridden are due to chronic disease, and no one can help them,” said Yang.

But Professor Chen indicated that there were no quick solutions. He said that for lakes the barrier consisting of the most difficult foundation stone, small bombings can be carried out to divert water. But in this case, the lake is formed from the ground rocks and rocks.

“Also, there are no ways to lead to mountains, so heavy machines cannot be spread.”

Taiwan has a lot of experience in the barrier – 88 has been formed on the island since the 1970s, according to public television service in Taiwan. Of these 57 % formed after hurricanes. 23 % of earthquakes. Most of them disappear within a year, although four have been there for decades.

Former Minister of Interior Lee Hong Yuan, a trained civil engineer, told a local plan that the public in Taiwan has no significant understanding of the barriers. He said that many researchers were witnessing the explosion of Lake Barier for the first time.

Hualien, which is approximately 90 % mountainous, is not strange to natural disasters as well. The boycott is often the first location in Taiwan to counter hurricanes, and its location on the Pacific Fire loop means that it is vulnerable to earthquakes.

Ms. Yang said that the calamities in the past two years, including a 7.1 earthquake in 2024, destroyed the tourism industry in the province. Many sites and scenic roads in Taruko George National Park, famously famous after the earthquake.

The province also has the largest number of indigenous population in Taiwan, where he was the husband of one of them. The couple started the library four years ago with the task of preserving the history of the indigenous population – and moved to its current location a few months ago.

Now, soaked in the library in the mud while they are damaged.

“I am really sad because some books have already been out of print,” she said.

But at least she and her husband are safe.

Others in the city are forced to deal with loved ones, or concern about relatives and friends who suffer from harm or those who are still missing.

Mrs. Sheh, who was killed by her 87 -year -old mother, told the local media that her body was covered with debris inside their house.

“We hope that the government and the police can contact us soon and help restore the body of my mother so that it can be developed.”

Additional reports by Locke Lee from BBC News in Taipei