Chicken Farmers Suffer Flood Damage in Hualien 尼莎豪雨重創花蓮玉里 稻田雞舍遭淹沒

In Hualien's Yuli Township, the extensive flooding caused rice paddies rotted and many chickens drowned in their cages or were swept away.

Sanmin Borough has long had drainage problems, and chicken farms were flooded on the 16th. Many chickens drowned in their cages or were swept away.

Mr. Hsu, Yuli Chicken Farmer: “The water got up to knee level. Over there, the water was over 5 feet. This happened last year too. I lost over 20.”

Sanmin and Guanyin likewise have drainage problems, causing flooded rice paddies. Rice stalks are rotting where they stand.

Mr. Chen, Yuli Farmer: “I had 5 hectares under water yesterday. Today, it's less than 3. The problem is drainage. The water has nowhere to go.”

The Yuli Township Office says low-lying areas are flooding the most because drainage ditches were damaged during the recent earthquakes. However, the degree of damage isn't enough to qualify for government assistance.

Yeh Chia-chi, Agricultural Section Chief, Yuli Township Office: “It's true that farmland is shifting. In Guanyin Borough, 5 hectares of rice paddies were flooded. However, there is less than 5 percent damage.”

The office says older irrigation channels are no match for extreme weather and central assistance is desperately needed. Officials are also asking evacuated residents of Chike Mountain not to return home immediately as the access road that was only just recently repaired has collapsed again.

花蓮玉里鎮的三民里因為雨勢大、附近掃叭圳來不及排水，16日下午開始淹沒了在地養雞場，設備全都泡湯，許多雞都被沖走，還有部分在籠子裡遭淹死。

玉里養雞農許先生指出：「（水淹）到膝蓋以上，如果那邊就比人都還深了。去（2021）年也淹一次更嚴重，昨天點了一下清理，大概20幾隻（死亡）而已。」

除此之外，三民、觀音等地區也因水圳排水不及，導致許多稻田淹在水中，讓目前正值抽穗的二期稻作變成空包彈，已經結穗的也會發芽腐爛。

玉里鎮三民里農民陳先生說：「我昨天泡的大概5公頃，現在是差不多泡3公頃。問題最大的就是，排水的地方常常，因為它最低嘛，那邊都會積淤泥，都排不出去。」

玉里鎮公所表示，第一時間就有聯繫農田水利署前往勘災，初步發現淹水的地方幾乎都屬低窪，部分排水溝又因地震毀損，農損面積目前恐怕還未達補助標準。

玉里鎮公所農業科長葉佳祺表示：「確實在農地隆起跟陷落的地方，觀音里我們發現有5公頃水淹稻田的狀況，不過目前看來，可能我們受損的面積，可能未達5%。」

公所強調，轄區許多農田水圳老舊，根本無法應付現在極端氣候，急需中央整合一個單位進行整治。此外赤科山道路原本搶通的兩處，因為大雨又崩落，呼籲民眾千萬不要上山。