TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Minister without Portfolio Chi Lien-cheng (季連成) warned in an interview Tuesday that a newly discovered barrier lake on the Wanli River in Hualien County could overflow within 10 to 20 days.
Chi said the lake is located about 20 km upstream from Wanrong Township at an elevation of roughly 1,000 meters above sea level, per CNA. It lies upstream of the Provincial Highway 9 bridge spanning the Wanli River.
Initial estimates put the lake’s capacity at about 6 million cubic meters of water, Chi said, adding that heavy rainfall could accelerate the timeline for an overflow. He said the Forestry and Nature Conservation Administration’s Hualien Branch has commissioned a research team from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University to survey the lake.
Authorities have also notified residents in high-risk areas to prepare for precautionary evacuations.
The Hualien Branch said Tuesday that a sudden collapse of the barrier lake, rather than a gradual overflow, could threaten Fengxin Village and Senrong Village in Fenglin Township, as well as Wanrong Village in Wanrong Township, per Liberty Times. Infrastructure at risk includes the Provincial Highway 9 bridge, Xibao Bridge, the Taiwan Railway bridge crossing the Wanli River, and flood-control facilities along the river.
The agency said the lake is located deep within the Central Mountain Range in an area without road access and surrounded by mountains exceeding 2,000 meters in elevation. As a result, personnel and equipment cannot easily be transported to the site for emergency operations, nor can telecommunications equipment be installed to provide continuous monitoring.
The agency said it is attempting to conduct daily observations while evaluating options for longer-term monitoring. Fenglin Township has begun preparations for a possible overflow or collapse, notifying residents in high-risk areas to pack essential belongings in anticipation of potential evacuation orders, per UDN.
Wanrong Township has warned residents to stay out of the Wanli River and its riverbed. Township officials said preparations would also take into account rainfall associated with Typhoon Mekkhala.
KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) on Monday urged the central government to work with local authorities to protect residents, per Mirror Media. He said Hualien’s terrain has become more vulnerable following the 2024 earthquake and called for increased monitoring of the Wanli River.
