TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Four huge boulders fell from a mountain in Keelung City and smashed onto a road below on Saturday (Feb. 5) following days of rain.
The four rocks were of varying sizes and the total weight was estimated to be tens of tons, Liberty Times reported. The largest, which was split down the middle, was around the size of a car.
No casualties or damage to passing vehicles were reported.
Keelung City Councilor Chang Ping-chun (張秉鈞), who arrived at the scene to coordinate the cleanup, shared on Facebook that the rockfall occurred at the foot of Waimushan along Huhai Road just outside of downtown Keelung, warning the public to avoid the area. At around 3 p.m., he reported that excavators were expected to arrive by 3:30 p.m., and should clear the road of debris by 8 p.m.
(Facebook, Chang Ping-chun photo)
Liberty Times cited Chang as saying that several boulders have fallen off Waimushan in recent years, though fortunately, they have not harmed people or vehicles. He urged the Keelung City Government to install safety nets over cliffs prone to rockfalls to ensure the safety of people and cars passing by.
Rockfalls are common to Taiwan’s northeastern coast due to the mountainous terrain located right by the ocean. In 2013, a rockfall incident made international news after a car was caught on a dashcam narrowly escaping being smashed by a boulder that tumbled down from the top of a mountain in Keelung.
Dashcam footage of a car almost being smashed by a huge rock in Keelung in 2013. (9gag image)
