Torrential rains associated with the passage of Typhoon Mekkhala paralyzed southern Taiwan today, forcing schools and offices to close and halting a section of the railway network due to severe flooding, official sources reported.
Although the typhoon did not make direct landfall in Taiwan, its peripheral circulation, combined with strong southwestern winds, unleashed heavy downpours across several areas of the island. This included the capital, Taipei, which recorded flooding over the last few hours.
Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued “extremely torrential rain” alerts—the highest warning level—for the southern city of Kaohsiung and a large portion of southern Pingtung County. It also issued “torrential rain” warnings for Tainan and parts of New Taipei.
As a result, authorities ordered the closure of schools and the suspension of office activities today across Kaohsiung, Tainan, and Pingtung, regions that collectively home more than five million residents.
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The intense precipitation forced a temporary suspension of rail traffic on the line linking Yongkang station in northern Tainan to Gangshan in Kaohsiung, which is one of the most heavily used rail corridors in the south of the island, the Taiwan Railway Corporation stated in a press release.
Local airlines EVA Air, China Airlines, Starlux Airlines, and Tigerair Taiwan also announced cancellations or schedule adjustments for flights scheduled today between Taiwan and Naha in Okinawa, near where Typhoon Mekkhala—which has weakened in recent days—is currently passing.
In eastern Taiwan, authorities in Hualien County ordered the preventive evacuation of more than 200 residents on Thursday from the municipalities of Fenglin and Wanrong due to the risk of flooding from a recently formed barrier lake.
The mountain structure currently holds around 780,000 cubic meters of water—a volume that continues to rise—and sits at an altitude of approximately 1,049 meters. Experts predict it could overflow if the water level reaches the 1,080-meter mark, according to the Taiwanese news agency CNA.
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The lake is located just a few kilometers from where another barrier lake breached its banks in September of last year, a disaster that claimed 19 lives and damaged more than a thousand homes in the municipality of Guangfu.
Typhoons are a recurring phenomenon in this region of the globe during the summer and autumn months, when warm Pacific waters fuel the formation of cyclones that frequently cause significant damage and disrupt transport networks and economic activity.
