TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Typhoon Hinnamnor has brought significant rainfall to northern Taiwan, and the two major beneficiaries are the Shimen and Feitsui reservoirs, as their water levels rose by 19% and 18% capacity, respectively, Taiwan’s Water Resources Agency (WRA) said.
According to the WRA, the typhoon has brought 164 million tons of water to reservoirs across the country, and in the coming days, 192 million more tons of water will flow into the reservoirs. It is estimated that the typhoon will have brought an estimated total of 356 million tons of water to the reservoirs, which is about the capacity of the Feitsui Reservoir.
WRA Deputy Director-General Wang Yi-feng (王藝峰) said that the 356 million tons of water is a blessing as this wave of rainfall has mostly benefitted reservoirs north of Miaoli, with Shimen Reservoir benefitting the most, with its water rising 19% to reach its current state at 94% capacity.
The water level of Feitsui Reservoir has gone up 18% compared to its level on Thursday morning (Sept. 1) to 76.2% of its capacity, which will be sufficient for the rest of the year, after 60 million tons of water flowed into the reservoir, he added.
The typhoon has also partially solved the water crisis in Keelung as rainfall has raised Xinshan Reservoir’s water level to 33% of its capacity, Wang said, adding that the water problems in the northern port city are still not totally solved.
According to the WRA’s website, as of 3 p.m. on Sunday, the water levels at major reservoirs in central Taiwan — the Second Baoshan, Yongheshan, Minde, Sun Moon Lake, and Techi — are over 92% of their capacities, and water levels at reservoirs in southern Taiwan are about 50-100% of their capacities.