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Update Date: 2009/08/10 19:47 (Central News Agency Reporter Tang Peijun, Taipei, 10th)
Former Director of the River Bureau of Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Kimitake Takemura, stated in Taipei today that the recent flood disaster in Taiwan was an extremely rare torrential downpour disaster unseen in nearly 200 years. He believes Taiwan handled the situation appropriately, and if such an event had occurred in Japan, the casualty count would likely have far exceeded that in Taiwan.
Takemura, who previously oversaw engineering projects in Japan, was invited by Taiwan's Water Resources Agency under the Ministry of Economic Affairs for a visit. Recently, he toured the Shimen Reservoir and river improvement projects in central Taiwan and encountered Typhoon Morakot. In an interview with a Central News Agency reporter, he exclaimed that such an astonishing torrential downpour was likely a disaster unseen in nearly 200 years, with no precedent in Japan's history.
Typhoon Morakot brought staggering rainfall, dumping more than Taiwan's average annual rainfall in less than three days.
Takemura noted that the torrential downpour Taiwan experienced was due to global climate anomalies. To use a metaphor, "the current climate is no longer normal—it's like a madman."
Over the past two days, while Taiwanese society has been busy with disaster relief, there has also been widespread scrutiny of responsibilities from local to central government levels. However, Takemura highly commended Taiwan's disaster prevention efforts.
He cited an example: two weeks ago, parts of Japan experienced flooding with only 400 to 500 millimeters of rainfall, yet 20 people died. He bluntly stated that if such a torrential downpour had occurred in Japan, the casualty count would likely have surpassed Taiwan's.
Takemura remarked that while Typhoon Morakot's rainfall was astonishing, what was even more surprising was that the casualty count did not rise dramatically. He attributed this to the hard work of Taiwan's water resources professionals and the media's detailed, real-time reporting on the disaster, enabling the public to use this information to find ways to avoid harm.
He emphasized that climate change is abnormal, and the power of nature far exceeds human capabilities. Current flood control and water management projects cannot provide complete "protection." When hard infrastructure fails to safeguard people, "soft" measures are a better solution—simply put, early evacuation of residents from hazardous areas is key.
Everyone knows not to go to dangerous places or build homes there, but Takemura noted that this is the hardest thing to achieve in reality. Governments may need to spend more money on protection measures, and perhaps Taiwan could consider prohibiting residential use of the first floor in flood-prone areas, requiring people to live only on the second floor or above.
He explained that Japan's experience involves the central government allocating all flood control budgets to local governments while stipulating that local governments bear responsibility for any casualties or property losses from disasters. As a result, local governments diligently collect rainfall and water level data provided by the central government and rigorously implement evacuation measures—an approach Taiwan might consider adopting. 980810
Source: http://tw. news. yahoo. com/ article/ url/ d/ a/ 090810/ 5/ 1ops3. html
Japanese Expert: Taiwan's Devastating Rainstorm A Rare Disaster in Nearly 200 Years
Former Director of the River Bureau of Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Kimitake Takemura, stated in Taipei today that the recent flood disaster in Taiwan was an extremely rare torrential downpour disaster unseen in nearly 200 years. He believes Taiwan handled the situation appropriately, and if such an event had occurred in Japan, the casualty count would likely have far exceeded that in Taiwan.
Takemura, who previously oversaw engineering projects in Japan, was invited by Taiwan's Water Resources Agency under the Ministry of Economic Affairs for a visit. Recently, he toured the Shimen Reservoir and river improvement projects in central Taiwan and encountered Typhoon Morakot. In an interview with a Central News Agency reporter, he exclaimed that such an astonishing torrential downpour was likely a disaster unseen in nearly 200 years, with no precedent in Japan's history.
Typhoon Morakot brought staggering rainfall, dumping more than Taiwan's average annual rainfall in less than three days.
Takemura noted that the torrential downpour Taiwan experienced was due to global climate anomalies. To use a metaphor, "the current climate is no longer normal—it's like a madman."
Over the past two days, while Taiwanese society has been busy with disaster relief, there has also been widespread scrutiny of responsibilities from local to central government levels. However, Takemura highly commended Taiwan's disaster prevention efforts.
He cited an example: two weeks ago, parts of Japan experienced flooding with only 400 to 500 millimeters of rainfall, yet 20 people died. He bluntly stated that if such a torrential downpour had occurred in Japan, the casualty count would likely have surpassed Taiwan's.
Takemura remarked that while Typhoon Morakot's rainfall was astonishing, what was even more surprising was that the casualty count did not rise dramatically. He attributed this to the hard work of Taiwan's water resources professionals and the media's detailed, real-time reporting on the disaster, enabling the public to use this information to find ways to avoid harm.
He emphasized that climate change is abnormal, and the power of nature far exceeds human capabilities. Current flood control and water management projects cannot provide complete "protection." When hard infrastructure fails to safeguard people, "soft" measures are a better solution—simply put, early evacuation of residents from hazardous areas is key.
Everyone knows not to go to dangerous places or build homes there, but Takemura noted that this is the hardest thing to achieve in reality. Governments may need to spend more money on protection measures, and perhaps Taiwan could consider prohibiting residential use of the first floor in flood-prone areas, requiring people to live only on the second floor or above.
He explained that Japan's experience involves the central government allocating all flood control budgets to local governments while stipulating that local governments bear responsibility for any casualties or property losses from disasters. As a result, local governments diligently collect rainfall and water level data provided by the central government and rigorously implement evacuation measures—an approach Taiwan might consider adopting. 980810
Source: http://tw. news. yahoo. com/ article/ url/ d/ a/ 090810/ 5/ 1ops3. html