Consecutive days of torrential rains have devastated Taiwan's north coast last weekend, and huge amounts of driftwood have washed up onshore, blocking ship routes in Keelung's Zhengbin and Badouzi fishing harbors. The driftwood, trash and bamboo brought by the torrential rains made it difficult for fishing boats to leave the harbor. Local yacht captains said that this is the first time that plum rains have caused so much damage. ==YACHT CAPTAIN== (So how do you leave the harbor, Captain?) Now? We have to do it slowly and avoid the trash. This yacht slowly sails from the Bisha fishing harbor, but the narrow channel connecting the harbor to the sea is clogged with bamboo, driftwood, and trash brought by the torrential rains. The captain decides to turn off the engine and drift with the tide, but debris still finds its way into the engine. ==YACHT CAPTAIN== I've completely let off the gas, its' on idle now. See, now it's been hit by something again, here it? The yacht can only continue moving when the captain removes the bamboo stuck in the propellers. After the plum rains devastated the north coast last weekend, numerous fishing harbors in Keelung, including Zhengbin, Bisha, and Badouzi, were all inundated with drifting debris that made it difficult for ships to sail in and out. The shipping route to Keelung Island was also full of debris. =="PISTON" Yacht Coach== This is the first time the plum rains have caused this. Usually, when this happens, it's because there had been a typhoon. ==HUANG YI-CHING PTS Reporter== The shipping lanes outside of Badouzi are full of debris, so marine safety drills are also avoiding the area. Coast Guard ships conducting exercises at sea must carefully avoid the area. Keelung City, the Coast Guard, and private fleets have all started cleanup efforts to ensure maritime safety. ==TSAI FU-NING Marine Affairs Division Chief, Keelung City== We rarely do this. In the past, we would never do much about drifting debris, because it naturally drifts with the ocean currents. But our forecasts show that, in two or three days, larger pieces of driftwood may come from the south. Large amounts of water hyacinth have also drifted into Keelung's harbors. Government officials believe ocean currents brought them from the west coast. Because the hyacinths spread quickly and have no natural enemies, they often block waterways and must be immediately cleared away. Though much of the focus has been on the effect of flooding in cities, the harbors of Taiwan were not spared. Translated by JOHN CHEN 上週梅雨重創全台，北海岸災情慘重，不少漂浮木被沖往海岸，還堵住基隆的正濱漁港和八斗子漁港航道，讓漁船出港時困難重重，當地的遊艇船長直呼，這是頭一遭在梅雨季，發生這樣的情況。 ==記者 vs. 遊艇教練== 船長那你要怎麼出去 我們現在喔 就慢慢出去 躲著垃圾 遊艇緩緩駛出碧砂漁港，但狹隘的港嘴，塞滿被大雨沖刷下來來竹子、小型漂流木和垃圾，怕垃圾卡住螺旋槳，遊艇船長決定關閉引擎，靠潮水的力量，緩慢前進，但異物還是找上門。 ==記者 vs. 遊艇教練 == 現在整個油門放掉了 然後待速這樣在跑 欸 你看又打到了 扣一聲了有沒有 船長打開引擎箱，把螺旋槳上卡住的竹子撥開，遊艇才能再度前進。上周梅雨重創北海岸之後，基隆正濱、碧砂、八斗子等漁港，全都罕見出現大量漂浮物質，堵在港嘴，造成船隻難以進出，而港口外通往基隆嶼的航道上，也都滿佈漂浮物、布袋蓮。 ==遊艇教練 活塞== 梅雨還第一次碰到的 不然一般這一種現象都是 颱風的時候 才會碰到這樣的情形 ==公視記者 黃怡菁== 因為八斗子漁港外的航道 滿佈漂浮物 所以後方的海安演習 也刻意避開這裡 而在海上進行海安九號演習的海巡船，也必須小心繞道，以免船隻受到影響。為了船隻安全，基隆市府、海巡隊，以及民間環保艦隊，也已經分別出海展開清理。 ==基隆市海洋事務科長 蔡馥嚀== 以往比較少 以往都是 我們都不會 針對海上漂流物去做處理 因為他會隨著洋流漂來漂去 可是未來推估南部 兩三天之後 也許大塊的木頭會再往北移 而港口內外，也飄來大量的布袋蓮，基隆市府推測可能是洋流，從西海岸帶過來，由於布袋蓮沒有天敵，快速繁殖，會大面積佔據航道，因此也必須趕緊清除，一場大雨，不只讓基隆市區出現不少災情，連港口也無法倖免於難。 記者 黃怡菁 郭俊麟報導