TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Video surfaced on Sunday (Sept. 11) showing a flash flood washing away a barbecue party held by Red Cross volunteers in a mountainous area of New Taipei City, drawing criticism from the public for engaging in risky behavior during a typhoon.
On Sunday, as the periphery of Typhoon Muifa lashed Taiwan, the Central Weather Bureau issued a heavy rain warning for mountainous areas of northern and northern Taiwan at 11:15 a.m., including a flood warning for the Dabao River in New Taipei City's Sanxia District.
Despite sending an additional warning at 1:15 p.m. for heavy rain, people continued to hold barbecue festivities along the river and video was uploaded to the Facebook group Breaking News Commune (爆料公社) showing people scrambling to save their gear as the river suddenly inundated their cooking site.
(Facebook, Breaking News Commune screenshots)
In the video, the river has become a raging torrent and has swollen its banks, forcing revelers to evacuate the scene. Despite the danger, many can be seen making a mad dash to save their tents, barbecue grills, tables, and chairs.
The video drew much criticism from netizens with comments such as "They have no understanding of danger," "Still trying to save material things at this time, some people really are low class," and "This will create a large amount of drifting garbage that will pollute the river." A netizen pointed out that the event had been organized by a New Taipei branch of the Red Cross for coaches and volunteers and wrote, "As a professional rescue team, you should suspend the barbecue activity in advance on a typhoon day, and should not take such risks and set the worst example."
However, a person familiar with the matter was cited by UDN as saying that the Chanchu Valley is usually monitored by the Red Cross's water safety team, they are all volunteers, and they were worried that there would be a shortage of staff during the Mid-Autumn Festival Holiday, and it was for this reason that they organized the cookout. The source stressed that personnel were very familiar with the environment and were in a relatively safe location.
(Facebook, Breaking News Commune screenshot)
New Taipei Red Cross official Chiang Hsieh-jui (江謝瑞) told the news agency that out of concern for a shortage of lifeguards, volunteers were encouraged to take their friends and relatives with them to participate. However, he stressed that the organization did not "host" a barbecue event that was open to the public.
Chiang emphasized that the water safety team has eight stations along the Dabao River Basin and at 11:20 a.m., the upper reaches of the river were reported to have become turbid and there was the possibility of a flash flood. Chiang stated that a national text message was sent at 11:24 a.m. warning about dangerous weather.
According to Chiang, evacuation orders were issued to people in the middle reaches of the Chanchu Valley and, in the end, about 70 to 80 people were evacuated without any injuries reported.
(Facebook, Breaking News Commune screenshot)
(Facebook, Breaking News Commune screenshot)
(Facebook, Breaking News Commune screenshot)
(Facebook, Breaking News Commune screenshots)