TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Updates of road closures on three of Taiwan’s highways due to landslides caused by recent heavy rainfall were announced on Monday (Oct. 17) by the Directorate General of Highways (DGH).

The road damage at the 117.4 km mark of the Central Cross-Island Highway, which has blocked traffic, has worsened as about 50 meters of the road foundation has washed away, DGH said in a press release, adding that the project to repair the damage is tentatively set to be completed by Nov. 7, when the section will reopen again.

A landslide occurred near Yakou (埡口) of the Southern Cross-Island Highway’s Tianchi - Xiangyang section on Sunday, the DGH said, adding that after checking, engineers found some rocks hanging on the side slope and rockfalls have happened continuously.

DGH will repair the damage in three weeks, a release said, adding that the road will be closed for repair every Tuesday to Thursday (Oct. 18 -20, Oct. 25 – 27, Nov. 1 -3) during the three weeks, while the road will be open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Friday to Monday (Oct. 21 – 24, Oct. 28 -31, and Nov. 4 – 7) during this period. The agency will resume the normal traffic control measures for the Southern Cross-Island Highway from Nov. 8: closed every Tuesday and Thursday, and open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on other days.

An extensive landslide has occurred at the 86.4 km – 86.6 km section of Provincial Highway No. 7, the DGH said in another release. As the landslide is measured at 200 meters in length and 140 meters in height, the clearing work will take quite some time, the agency said, adding that a makeshift road will be completed by Oct. 22.