I feel bad because here in the north of Taiwan, we hardly felt anything. The forecasts were for the north part of the island to feel the worst effects and when the typhoon appeared to be weak and disorganized, several of us in the north thought it was over. It wasn’t until the news began coming in that we found out south Taiwan had suffered a major disaster.
Here is the reason why this typhoon was so devastating to south Taiwan:
[1]
[2]
[3]
These are rainfall charts. The top, middle and bottom are Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. This is the kind of rainfall that one would expect for an entire year and not over a weekend! Much of Taiwan has been literally washed away. Here are some top headlines in Taiwan:
Village Chief swept away while trying to operate a water gate [4].
Kaohsiung has 130,000 t0ns of trash [5].
10,000 pigs and chickens killed [6].
682 schools damaged by typhoon [7].
51 Taidong homes disappear into Pacific [8].
Hundreds unaccounted for in Kaohsiung village [9].
7 cars crash into swollen Choushui river [10].
Comments Disabled To "Taiwan Still Reeling From Typhoon Morakot"
#1 Trackback By MJ Klein On August 11, 2009 @ 08:44
Taiwan Still Reeling From Typhoon Morakot | [11]
#2 Trackback By Taiwanderful On August 11, 2009 @ 13:52
Taiwan Still Reeling From Typhoon Morakot [12]
#3 Comment By durbanbay On August 11, 2009 @ 17:01
Yeah, we also thought it was over Saturday and then started seeing the devastation. Its really sad. Friday was a holiday in Taipei because they thought it would be bad. There was a bit of wind around midnight and some rain but nothing major. We really empathize with those people.
Thanks for the coverage and keeping people informed. Up here in the north there is too much ignorance regarding the devastation of typhoons (especially with people in Taipei) many of whom were hoping for a typhoon holiday.
.-= durbanbay´s last blog .. [13] =-.
#4 Comment By thenhbushman On August 12, 2009 @ 14:14
durbanbay, i know what you mean. for us in the north it was just another inconvenience and we were all set to call it over when the news began to pour in about the situation in south Taiwan. i feel totally helpless. thanks for your comments.
#5 Comment By mike01905 On August 11, 2009 @ 20:15
Even tho those maps show rainfall for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday… I’m trying to picture in my mind what a map with the TOTAL rainfall for the storm would be. I see some areas that look like they were in the 300mm areas each day which would be 900mm of rain. If my math to convert from mm to inhces is correct… thats about 35 inches of rain. Now I see why they’ve been saying on the news there that its like the worse flooding in Taiwan in like 50 or 60 years.
Now… isn’t like towards the middle of Taiwan a mountainous area??? I would guess that some of the worse flooding would be on either side of those mountains. Not only do they have to deal with their own rainfall… but with the water rushing down the sides of the mountains too.
I can only imagine how parts of Taiwan look from this. I mean… when parts of this country gets a lot of rain and rivers overfloow and flood wide areas… its usually not from nearly as much rain as Taiwan just got.
.-= mike01905´s last blog .. [14] =-.
#6 Comment By thenhbushman On August 12, 2009 @ 14:12
Mike, many of those places had more than 2,000 mm of rain! that’s taller than i am! you are correct that the central portion of Taiwan is mountainous. our highest mountain, Yu-shan is higher than Japan’s Mt. Fugi, and is #27 on Wikipedia’s list of peaks: [15] so all that water that fell on the mountains came running down into the plains areas. it’s a huge mess in some areas, and many ports are clogged up with debris.
#7 Comment By Malcolm On August 11, 2009 @ 21:00
MJ, here in Thailand many people are praying for the folks of Taiwan and the families who have lost their homes and lives , and Ciejay and me know you are sad m but we are glad you are ok . Take care and know in your hearts that we are thinking about and praying for you. Malcolm
.-= Malcolm´s last blog .. [16] =-.
#8 Comment By thenhbushman On August 12, 2009 @ 14:07
thank you Malcolm. we got it bad in the southern part of the island. we live in north Taiwan and the typhoon wasn’t much of a threat to us. thanks for your prayers and concern.
#9 Trackback By Protocol Snow On August 11, 2009 @ 23:58
Major devastation in Taiwan from Typhoon Morakot. Disaster photos say a lot, but the precipitation numbers are scary [17]
#10 Comment By Stefan On August 12, 2009 @ 21:31
Is there any way to help the affected people? Like a reputable organization to donate money to?
#11 Comment By thenhbushman On August 13, 2009 @ 21:47
Stefan, i’ve heard that the Tainan and other local governments have set up some accounts for people to use bank transfers to donate money. Jenna posted a link to a website that is accepting donations. check [18] for information.
#12 Comment By Jenna On August 12, 2009 @ 21:45
Wow, it is incredible to think that Taiwan has totaled the expected amount in a YEAR. Here in the U.S., we are thinking about all the victims and families affected by this natural disaster during this difficult time.
GlobalGiving.com, the internationally recognized marketplace for philanthropy that connects individual donors to the causes they care most about, is also providing immediate assistance of Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan.
Please donate at: [19].
We hope for the best as Taiwan continues to move forward and will keep you in our thoughts.
.-= Jenna´s last blog .. [20] =-.
#13 Comment By thenhbushman On August 13, 2009 @ 21:44
thanks for the link Jenna.
#14 Comment By Brunty On August 14, 2009 @ 01:37
MJ, I am glad to hear you and Hui Chen are okay, but am saddened for teh rest of Taiwan that has really copped a flogging. These things pull people together and usually bring the best out of everybody, I hope that is the case and people can get back to normal life as soon as possible.
Take care mate
.-= Brunty´s last blog .. [21] =-.
#15 Comment By thenhbushman On August 16, 2009 @ 18:12
Brunty, this has been an eye-opening experience, putting it mildly. this disaster has made it very clear that anything can happen at any time. food for thought. thanks Brunty.
#16 Comment By fvarga On August 14, 2009 @ 12:04
We were lucky in the north… not the case for the rest of Taiwan.
And it’s not finished yet…
Maybe it’s time to ask serious questions…
But I am afraid that whatever the questions (and more important, the answers), nothing will change.
.-= fvarga´s last blog .. [22] =-.
#17 Comment By thenhbushman On August 16, 2009 @ 18:10
fvarga, things are done here in their own way with their own means. thanks for your comments.