Premier Jiang Yi-huah was in Wufeng Township, Hsinchu County today to survey the damage left behind by Tropical Storm Trami, whose powerful southwesterly currents washed out many roads in Wufeng and neighboring Jianshi Township. The premier brought relief supplies for residents and ordered officials to restore the roads as quickly as possible so people can return to their homes and normal routines.
The tropical storm dumped more than 650 and 590 millimeters of rainfall in Wufeng and Jianshi townships, respectively. And with many roads still out after last month's Typhoon Soulik, Jiang commended Hsinchu County Magistrate Chiu Ching-chun for ordering evacuations ahead of Trami and averting an even larger disaster.
Premier Jiang said the Hsinchu County government will devote every effort to repairing the heavily damaged county highways. In response to Chiu's concerns about insufficient funding, the premier pledged the central government's support. Jiang also said he would speak to the Council of Agriculture about upgrading alternate service roads and the smaller countryside roadways.
The terrain in these two townships is extremely fragile, with landslides and roadbed erosion occurring in every typhoon, Jiang said. The key is stronger remedial measures that will protect roads and rivers from further damage in the future. He directed government officials to study better methods of remediation.
On the question of authority over river management, Jiang said Taiwan has a unique terrain of steep mountains and rapid waters, and some rivers are governed by different agencies. From past discussions, the Executive Yuan concluded that bringing all authority under the fold of a single agency may be a difficult prospect, and that it may be faster to coordinate remediation efforts among the river management agencies such as the Forestry Bureau, Water Conservation Bureau and Water Resources Agency—which is the framework that is presently in place. The premier asked the ministers without portfolio in charge of these affairs and other ministry leaders to work together on this issue.