Taiwan lifts land alert for Typhoon Ba-wei; Hualien creek alert also canceled

Taiwan has lifted the land alert for Typhoon Ba-wei as the storm moves away from the island. The Central Weather Administration canceled the land warning at 5:30 a.m. and the sea warning at 8:30 a.m. on July 12.

Concurrently, the yellow alert for the Ma-ta-an Creek basin in Hualien County has been rescinded. The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency's Hualien branch reported that drone surveillance at 6:10 a.m. showed no new damming in the upstream Ma-ta-an Creek. The river channel remains unobstructed, and downstream water levels have not shown abnormal decreases.

According to the "Ma-ta-an Creek Dammed Lake Alert Release, Evacuation, and Cancellation Mechanism Table," the predicted cumulative rainfall for the next 24 hours is less than 400mm, meeting the standard for lifting the yellow alert. The affected areas include several villages in Guangfu Township and Fenglin Town, as well as Mingli Village in Wanrong Township.

While the immediate threat has passed, authorities have reminded relevant units, including the Water Resources Agency and the Directorate General of Highways, to ensure personnel working within the river area remain vigilant about water level changes for safety. The upstream Ma-ta-an Creek had a significant accumulation of approximately 240 million cubic meters of soil and debris after a previous overflow in September last year. This material poses a potential risk of new dam failures or unstable sediment flows due to earthquakes or heavy rain, which could impact downstream communities. Mitigation efforts, including slope restoration, check dams, dredging, and embankment construction, are ongoing, with continuous monitoring in place.