Heavy rains cut off road - Southern Cross-Island Highway residents ask president to enlist China’s help

Although four years have passed Typhoon Morakot struck, reconstruction work on the Southern Cross-Island Highway (南部橫貫公路) has been continually thwarted by numerous typhoons and the accompanying flooding. The lives of proprietors in the tourist business that rely on the crowds have been bitter beyond words, but especially for those living in the beautiful Lidao Village (利稻村), where the number of tourists can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

Moreover, the area continually faces the possibility of further disasters at the hands of typhoons. The important tourist area from Siang-yang (向陽) to MeiShan (梅山) has been undergoing reconstruction work and faced controlled entry since the Morakot disaster four years ago. Each time the section of road between Qinhe (勤和) and Fuxing (復興) experiences heavy rain, the area takes one step closer to another disaster, especially Lakusihe (拉庫絲何), where houses have been washed away and others left in a dangerous state surrounded with rocks after each deluge subsides.

Those engaged in the agriculture industry have had to stand by helplessly as their crops rot, desperately waiting for the road to reopen at some time in the unforeseeable future. Left without any other choice, some residents are even asking for China to come to their rescue. How should Southern Cross-Island Highway reconstruction work be carried out in order to safeguard the lives and property of residents? This is not only an extremely important question for both government and local residents to deeply ponder, but also a pressing issue that all those living on this small island of Formosa must address. Due to climate change, in the future, ever more frequent and intense bouts of heavy rainfall will be impossible to avoid.

Heavy rains cut off road
- Southern Cross-Island Highway residents ask president to enlist China’s help
URL:https://www.peopo.org/news/219495

(以下是中文對照)
逢雨路斷 南橫居民請總統找大陸幫忙做

八八風災至今已經過了四年多，南部橫貫公路的重建工程屢屢被颱風洪水所侵襲而功虧一簣，依靠南橫旅遊帶來人潮的旅宿業者實在苦不堪言，尤其是有南橫最美麗部落的利稻村風華不再，遊客幾乎屈指可數，而隨時侵襲的颱風更雪上加霜。另外在向陽梅山間的這段旅遊精華區，四年來幾乎都在重建管制進入中，勤和復興段每遇大雨就會釀災，特別是拉庫絲何逢雨就氾濫，除了沖掉的房屋，數棟危危可及的屋子，在洪水退去後，石頭布滿四周。盛產的農產品經常眼睜睜看著它爛掉，居民苦等通車卻似遙遙無期，在百般無奈之下，甚至連請中國大陸來做都會較快的說法都躍上檯面。南橫重建工程該怎麼做，才能讓居民生命財產獲得保障，這不但是政府及在地居民們不能不好好思考的一個重要課題，也是福爾摩沙小島上所有人必須面對調適的課題，因為氣候變遷下，強降雨在頻率及強度方面勢必會持續增加，我們毫無迴避的空間。