Daily Rainfall Exceeds 250mm in Kaohsiung's Liugui District, 19 Debris Flow Alerts Raised to Red

(Central News Agency, reporter Cai Mengyu, Kaohsiung, 9th) Due to the continuous influence of southwestern air currents, heavy rain has been falling in the mountainous areas of Kaohsiung. The Kaohsiung City Water Resources Bureau stated that as of this afternoon, the daily accumulated rainfall in Liugui District had exceeded 250mm. Nineteen potential debris flow torrents and two large-scale landslide potential areas in Liugui District have been raised to red alert.

Kaohsiung City originally had 68 debris flow yellow alerts, including 18 in Taoyuan District, 14 in Namasia District, and 36 in Liugui District. Additionally, there were 2 large-scale landslide yellow alert areas in Liugui District. However, as heavy rain continued in the mountainous areas of Kaohsiung, the daily accumulated rainfall in Liugui District exceeded 250mm as of this afternoon.

According to a press release from the Kaohsiung City Water Resources Bureau on the 9th, based on the latest debris flow and large-scale landslide warning information released by the Soil and Water Conservation Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture on the afternoon of the 9th, 19 potential debris flow torrents and 2 large-scale landslide potential areas in Liugui District were raised to red alert.

In response to the heavy rainfall in the mountainous areas, the Kaohsiung City Government initiated preventive evacuation operations on the 8th. As of noon on the 9th, a total of 1,904 people had been evacuated from the mountainous areas.

At the same time, to prevent road collapses, rockfalls, and slope disasters caused by the heavy rain, the Southern Maintenance Engineering Office of the Highway Bureau, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, implemented precautionary road closures starting at 10 PM on the 8th. These include four major access roads: the temporary road on Provincial Highway 20, Line 93 in Taoyuan District; Provincial Highway 27 in Liugui District; the Baolai to Taoyuan section of Provincial Highway 20; and the temporary road on Provincial Highway 29, Line 11 from Jiasian to Namasia. All are fully closed. They are expected to reopen at 7 AM on the 12th, depending on weather and road safety conditions.

The city government urges the public to avoid dangerous areas such as mountains, rivers, streams, and slopes, to stay informed about the latest road conditions and disaster prevention information, and to immediately comply with evacuation orders to protect life and property. (Editor: Li Hengshan) 1150609