TORRENTIAL RAIN AND EARTHQUAKE GIVE TAITUNG A ROUGH NIGHT|台東暴雨 鯉魚山.花東.東海岸公路土石流

Those living in Taitung County went through a rough night yesterday. Besides the nonstop torrential rain, Green Island residents were shocked by a magnitude 5 earthquake. Floods wreaked havoc all over Taitung County, resulting in mudslides on the Huatung Highway. Downtown areas and campuses were flooded, and the National Museum of Prehistory also suffered damages. Luckily, all prehistoric artifacts are still intact. A magnitude 5 earthquake shook the Green Island late at night on Oct. 6. At a local supermarket, goods that fell from the shelves during the quake were scattered all over the floor. Also, torrential downpours continued for two days. As a result, a mudslide buried a car at the Liyushan Park in downtown Taitung. Fortunately, no one was in the car at the time. A section of the Zhongxing Road in Taitung turned into a water course, with over a dozen scooters sunk in water. Some people got stuck halfway because their scooters just died. ==TAITUNG RESIDENT== It was scary. It happened so suddenly. ==TSENG SHU-MEI, Kuangming Borough chief, Taitung City== Our water drainage system is inadequate. We have an eco-park over there, so whenever it rains, tree leaves get washed down here. Schools were also flooded due to the torrential rain. The entire campus of Bei-nan Elementary School was covered in water. Consequently, the county government announced that class would be canceled in the afternoon. The Wuling Green Tunnel turned into a river due to poor drainage. People had to wade through the muddy water to go home. ==TAITUNG RESIDENT== There's a river in front of my house. The National Museum of Prehistory suffered damage from a mudslide, due to inadequate soil and water conservation. Parts of the office and exhibition halls were covered in mud. Luckily, no prehistoric artifacts were damaged. ==TSOU CHIU-CHIANG, Director, National Museum of Prehistory== There's some water under the stone coffin. Normally we are not affected by flooding. The Taitung county government has established a disaster control center to respond to the damage caused by the torrential rain. The county government cautioned people to stay away from areas at risk for mudslides. TRANSLATED BY：CHRISTINA LIU 綠島6號深夜發生5級地震，當地超市貨架上的瓶瓶罐罐被震落破碎一地，一早員工趕緊來清理掉落的物品。 不過讓民眾最有感的是，從昨天到今天持續下的豪大雨。台東市區的鯉魚山還發生土石流，當時壓到一部車幸好沒有人在車上。台東市中興路二段也因為排水來不及，馬路變成大水溝，十多輛機車泡在水裡，還有民眾騎機車騎到一半就熄火，非常傻眼。 ==民眾== 很恐怖 一下子而已 ==台東市光明里長 曾淑美== 因為我們的水溝太小 而且我們那邊有一個生態區 每次下雨 那個樹葉都往這邊流 這場大雨也造成部份學校淹水，尤其是卑南國小整個校園都汪洋一片，危害學童的安全，台東縣政府緊急在中午宣布下午停止上班上課。 台東市的綠色隧道，在大雨中也變成了小黃河，因為排水不良，住在附近的民眾都很困擾，回家得要過一條河。 ==當地居民== 家裡門前有小河 卑南史前文化公園，更因為後方山坡的農地疑似水土保持不良，在這次的大雨中發生土石流灌進辦公室和展示廳，部份電腦和文件淹水，幸好史前文物沒有受損。 ==卑南史前文化公園主任 鄒求強== 石板棺這下面剩下一點點水 要不然正常的話 是不會被淹到 台東縣政府下午已經成立水災災害應變中心，處理這兩天豪大雨帶來的災情，尤其要提醒山區民眾遠離土石流危險區。 記者 章明哲 台東報導