HEAVY RAINS CHANGE KEELUNG'S WAIMUSHAN BEACH|基隆豪雨成災 外木山沙灘凹陷成峽谷

It turns out that Baisha Bay isn't the only stretch of beach devastated by the torrential rains last weekend. Keelung's Waimushan beach also suffered its share of damage, fortunately, an underwater sand retention levee prevented the sand from being washed away altogether, and the beach will be back to its former state in about two weeks. Though the skies have cleared after the weekend's torrential rains, the marks of devastation are still easily visible in the Waimushan beach in Keelung. ==HUANG YI-CHING PTS reporter== As the rains hit northern Taiwan last Friday, here at Waimushan a ditch at least 1.5 meters deep was carved out by the rainwater. As the rains pelted the north coast, Waimushan beach was flooded as drainage systems were overwhelmed. Two ditches were created on the formerly flat and unbroken beach, completely changing the landscape. ==VISITOR== Yes, it's pretty different from what it used to be like. When we visited before, the water was very clean. ==WANG YING-CHEH Dep-Dir., Dept. of Transport and Tourism, Keelung City== (The land) could not retain the rainwater, so the rainwater was forced to flow along the surface. The erosion created what looks like rivers on the beach. The government of Keelung City said that the crescent-shaped Waimushan beach was artificially expanded, creating a summer tourist spot. As for whether the rains will wash the beach away permanently, the city said that, based on recommendations from the National Taiwan Ocean University, a levee had been built in the ocean 30 meters out to keep the sand in the beach area. Officials showed pictures of the surrounding seas during the storms, saying that the yellow-brown color was due to the sand kept in by the levee. They said that the sand will be naturally replenished within two weeks, so the public does not need to worry that the beach will be gone. TRANSLATED BY：JOHN CHEN 上周末暴雨侵襲台灣，北海岸知名景點白沙灣受到重創，基隆的外木山沙灘，也難逃被摧殘的命運。原本平坦的沙灘，被沖出至少兩條河溝、凹陷 成峽谷的形狀。幸好沙灘三十公尺外，有建造「定沙堤」，留住被沖刷的細沙，基隆市府要遊客不用擔心，約莫兩個禮拜沙灘就會恢復原狀。 大大顆的西瓜載浮載沉，不知從哪裡被沖刷到海中，再隨著一旁的垃圾，被拍打上岸。儘管放晴了，基隆外木山大武崙沙灘，還是處處可見，被上周暴雨襲擊後的痕跡。 ==記者 黃怡菁== 上週五北台灣遭受暴雨襲擊 基隆外木山這邊也被沖出 至少落差有1.5公尺的河溝 豪雨狂炸北海岸，沙灘後方的外木山，當下來不及涵養水份，雨水就透過涵洞，狂瀉到沙灘上頭，沖刷出至少兩條河溝，原本平整的沙灘，凹陷成峽谷形狀，沙灘看來面目全非。 ==遊客== 有啊 因為跟之前不太一樣 我們之前來的時候 水是很乾淨的 ==基隆市府交旅處副處長 王英哲== （山)沒有辦法把這個水 雨水給留住 所以它就產生了大量的表面 雨水逕流 所以才會沖蝕出 我們現在看到的很像是 一條溪流流過的痕跡 基隆市府表示，彎月狀的外木山大武崙沙灘，早年的面積不大，後來才填入白沙，變成人造沙灘，夏天總能吸引大批遊客前來戲水。但暴雨會不會造成沙灘流失?市府解釋，多年前已經請海洋大學教授計算過，在沙灘外30公尺的地方，設置「定沙堤」，海水退卻後，沙子可以留在海域裡面，避免流失。交旅處官員拿出暴雨當下的照片，表示內海會呈現味噌湯的顏色，就是沙石被定沙堤攔下所造成，大約再兩個星期後，白沙就會再度被沖刷上岸，基隆市府要民眾不用擔心沙灘會消失。 記者 黃怡菁 謝其文 基隆報導