Typhoon Bawei Nears Taiwan, Ministry Activates Full Disaster Response for Wanli River Landslide Lake

Taiwan's Ministry of Agriculture has launched a full-scale disaster prevention and response operation for the Wanli River landslide lake as Typhoon Bawei nears the island. The ministry's emergency response team convened on July 6 to assess the situation.

As of Monday afternoon, the landslide lake's estimated water storage reached 313.44 million cubic meters, occupying 61.46% of its total capacity. Water levels are consistently rising, with the lake still 12.55 meters below its potential overflow point. The approaching typhoon is expected to bring significant rainfall to the region, prompting the comprehensive emergency measures.

Monitoring via drone on Monday morning showed no significant changes in the lake or dam structure, with no abnormal seepage detected. The Forestry and Conservation Agency has deployed water level sensors and is acquiring additional floating sensors from Japan to enhance monitoring reliability before the typhoon makes landfall. The Central Weather Administration forecasts Typhoon Bawei will be closest to Taiwan on Friday and Saturday, potentially causing heavy rain in Hualien's mountainous areas.

Local authorities in Hualien County, including Ruisui and Fenglin townships, are urged to maintain riverbed patrols and implement traffic controls, strictly prohibiting public access to river channels to prevent dangers from potential overflow. The Water Resources Agency will close sluice gates and remove temporary water diversion structures within two hours of an alert being issued. Disaster prevention units are also reviewing flood defenses, bridges, roads, shelters, and evacuation mechanisms to ensure readiness.

Regarding the Mataian River landslide lake, the ministry reported it has minimal water storage and has largely reverted to a river channel form. However, the dam area, landslide zone, and riverbed still contain approximately 240 million cubic meters of sediment, posing a potential risk of new landslide lake formation and rapid downstream sediment movement. The Forestry and Conservation Agency will continue monitoring this area for immediate response, while county authorities will oversee township preparedness for evacuations to protect public safety.

“

The lake area and dam body have shown no significant changes, and no abnormal seepage has been found.