Typhoon Morakot is History, But Its Lessons Must Not Be Forgotten

Typhoon Morakot is History, But Its Lessons Must Not Be Forgotten
United Daily News editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
August 8, 2011

Summary: Typhoon Muifa brushed past and left. Today is the second anniversary of Typhoon Morakot. Typhoon Morakot, which struck in 2009, was the disaster of the century. This notorious typhoon is now history. But its lessons must not be forgotten. Post-disaster reconstruction or disaster prevention requires swift passage of the Three National Land Protection Laws. Only then can we begin land surveying, verifying the safety of each and every tract of land, verifying use restrictions, expanding land restoration, reducing man made contributions to natural disasters.

Full Text below:

Typhoon Muifa brushed past and left. Today is the second anniversary of Typhoon Morakot. Typhoon Morakot, which struck in 2009, was the disaster of the century. This notorious typhoon is now history. But its lessons must not be forgotten.

Typhoon Morakot wiped Hsiao Lin Village off the map. It was a natural disaster that shocked the world. It has become important research material for disaster researchers the world over. Many countries have send experts to Mount Zion to investigate, in the hope of finding clues. In particular, Japan's efforts have commanded respect. The first time Japan sent experts to investigate, they confirmed that large areas showed signs of rock creep. This was followed by a survey of the entire land area of Japan. The survey identified potential slide areas and issued warnings. By contrast, authorities on Taiwan took almost no action.

Before the Mount Zion landslide, low frequency signals were detected. Investigators hope this will contribute to an early-warning mechanism for large scale landslides. The subject has been of great interest to the international scientific community. Multinational research teams from Britain, Japan, and the United States are investigating. They hope to develop an early warning mechanism that will benefit mankind, by making a significant contribution to landslide or earthquake prediction. Taiwan is situated in a region prone to natural disasters. Yet political leaders on Taiwan have clearly been lax in their response.

For the past two years, the government has promoted post-disaster reconstruction. In both men and materiel, its reconstruction efforts have been considerably more aggressive than in the past. They have been larger in scale, and more efficient in execution. Nevertheless, the recovery has been disappointing. This is especially true for reservoirs, roads, and other infrastructure. As of today, long lasting solutions have yet to be found. The key reason is the potential impact they may have on the National Land Rehabilitation Program. The legislature must pass the required national land use laws. Only then can officials take charge. Otherwise it will remain difficult to effect any permanent cures.

The massive 9/21 Earthquake struck 12 years ago. It wreaked havoc on the geological structures beneath the island. Typhoon Morakot inundated that already fractured and loose earth with hundreds of thousands of tons of precipitation. It accelerated this soil erosion. As a result, Hsiao Lin Village in Kaohsiung, Taimali Township in Taitung, and Chen Youlan Creek Township in Nantou all suffered landslides.

The Legislative Yuan approved special regulations and a special budget for disaster recovery and disaster reconstruction two years ago. Central and local governments have dedicated special staff to the problem. They have made real progress. They have sheltered, cared for, and subsidized disaster victims. They have built prefabricated and permanent housing units. They have begun economic renewal. They have relocated entire villages away from high-risk areas. In this, they have done well. The government has significantly upgraded its disaster response ability. Central and local governments have published disaster prevention maps. Rescue relief officials have affirmed that village, township, and district officials are in charge. These are all useful actions.

But it has done virtually nothing vis a vis the reconstruction of roads, bridges, and other infrastructure. The 8/8 Floods heavily impacted the headwaters of Kaoping Creek. The Provincial Highway, which runs through Namasia, Taoyuan, and Hsiao Lin districts in Kaohsiung City, was cut. On the other side of Feng Shui Ya Kou, villages on the upper reaches of the Chen Youlan Creek constitute another kind of disaster area. As of today, no reconstruction has initiated whatsoever. The construction of permanent roads or bridges is anticipated. But how will they go about it? As of today, no one has had the courage to make any decisions.

Consider road reconstruction. Roads in Namasia, Minzhu, and other districts in Kaohsiung City, were cut. Two years of reconstruction have been limited to the repair of steel structures, freight containers, culverts, sidewalks, or temporary bridges, No permanent roads or bridges have been constructed. Local protestors were accorded second-class citizen treatment. The 8/8 Floods dumped 94 million tons of silt into Laonong Creek, raising the creekbed 30 meters. Highway authorities have no response. Over the past two years, whenever it rains in the mountain regions, pathways and temporary bridges are all swept into the sea like so much flotsam. A dozen or more reconstructed pathways and temporary bridges were battered by southwest winds from Typhoon Milei. Half of them were washed into the sea

Creek beds in Laonong Creek and other disaster areas were suddenly raised. This affected road or bridge reconstruction. The well-known Tsengwen Creek overflowed and diverted water into tunnels. Hsiao Lin Villagers inititally assumed tunnel blasting caused the landslides that destroyed their village. But long term experiments and surveys prove tunnel blasting had nothing to do with the destruction of the village. Construction on the diversion tunnel was halted all the same. The east outlet of the diversion tunnel runs the risk of being buried at any moment, because the Laonong Creek bed has been raised. Even if it is built, it may not be able to divert much water.

More fundamentally, the problem was the government waited too long. The Three National Land Use Laws intended to protect national lands have been delayed for over five years. The limited amount of usable land on Taiwan has been left in limbo, under non-sustainable conditions, unprotected by National Land Protection Laws. Cumulative erosion resulted in the failure to conserve national lands.

Given such developments, post-disaster reconstruction or disaster prevention requires swift passage of the Three National Land Protection Laws. Only then can we begin land surveying, verifying the safety of each and every tract of land, verifying use restrictions, expanding land restoration, reducing man made contributions to natural disasters.

莫拉克惡名除籍，但教訓應當記取
【聯合報╱社論】 2011.08.08

梅花颱風過門而去，莫拉克八八風災今日屆滿兩周年。莫拉克是世紀災難，颱風名冊上已因其惡名昭彰而將之除籍，但我們應將它的教訓記取下來。

莫拉克颱風導致小林村滅村，是讓全球震驚的天災，已然成為全世界災害研究的重要教材。許多國家派專家前往獻肚山勘查，希望找出蛛絲馬跡，其中日本的努力最為國人嘆服。日本第一時間派專家來考察，確認大面積地滑之前地表會出現岩石蠕動現象（Rock Creep），隨即展開日本全境國土普查，找出潛在的大面積地滑區域並發布預警。相對於此，台灣自己卻幾乎沒有動作。

至於在獻肚山崩山前偵測到的低頻訊號，希望能對大面積地滑的預警機制提供教材，更是國際科學界現下的大熱門。至少英、日、美都有好幾組跨國研究團隊投入研究，希望早一步發展出對人類有重大貢獻的地滑或地震預警機制。相形之下，台灣處在自然災害的高危險區，因應動作卻顯得不夠積極。

兩年來，政府推動災後重建工作，無論人員或物資投入，較以往災後重建，規模、效率雖積極得多，但復原的程度卻不如預期；尤其是水庫、道路等基礎系統的復原，至今仍找不到長治久安的對策。關鍵原因是這些牽涉到國土計畫的復建任務，除非居於上位的國土三法通過立法，能夠到位主導，否則難有治本的功效。

如果十二年前的九二一震災對台灣的傷害是國土的深層解構，那莫拉克則是在已然解構、鬆脫的國土上，潑下數以億噸的降水，讓這塊土地加速蝕解。高雄小林村、台東太麻里鄉、南投陳有蘭溪上游原鄉的沖刷崩解都如是。

兩年來，災區復原工作在立法院第一時間通過重建特別條例，編列特別預算，中央到地方都設有專責推動人員編組，確實做出一定成績；包括罹難、失依災民的撫恤、安置及照顧，興建組合屋及永久住宅，產業重建、甚至高危險區遷村等，均見一定績效；政府部門的防災對策也有相當升級，包括從中央到地方的防災地圖製作，救災指揮官確認由鄉鎮區長擔綱，都是紮根的動作。

但是，在公路、橋樑等基礎重建方面，以「一籌莫展」來形容應不算過當。八八水災的重災區高屏溪發源地，高雄市那瑪夏、桃源、小林等區的省道公路柔腸寸斷，跨過分水埡口到另一重災區陳有蘭溪上游的鄉村，至今也無復原的根本對策。雖然訂出修建永久性道路或橋樑的期程，但怎麼做？至今未敢率然決定。

以公路復建為例，高市那瑪夏、民族等區道路柔腸寸斷，兩年來的復建，始終僅止於修築鋼構、貨櫃、涵管等的便道或便橋，並沒有永久性的道路或橋樑興建；地方抗議遭二等國民待遇，但公路單位面對八八風災後九千四百萬噸淤砂瞬間抬升三十公尺的荖濃溪等河床，確實遲遲思考不出根本應對之道。這兩年來，山區一有豪大雨，便道、便橋便被摧枯拉朽般遭直推入海；十幾座一再復建的便道、便橋，前不久因米雷颱風引進的西南氣流，又有一半「逕流入海」。

荖濃溪等災區河床的瞬間抬升，影響的不只是公路或橋樑復建。知名的曾文溪越域引水隧道，小林村民原認為炸隧道引發獻肚山崩是滅村主因，但長時間的實驗及調查已證實滅村與炸隧道無關；然而，引水隧道仍難逃停工命運，關鍵的原因是在引水隧道東口因為荖濃溪溪床抬升，隨時有埋掉引水隧道口的可能，即使蓋成也引不了水。

更根本、也是蹉跎太久的，是攸關確保國土安全的國土三法立法延宕已不止五年，以致台灣有限面積的土地利用，一直處在不永續、無國土安全概念的細碎處置，致這些巨量的「蠶食」累積擴大，造成了國土無以存續。

事到如今，不論為了災後重建或防災於未然，國土三法皆應及早通過，如此才能及早辦理國土普查，確認每塊土地的安全屬性，進而確認利用限制，進而展開國土復育，降低人為因素增加災害的規模。