Storm harms species of endangered fish in streams, tanks

By Chiu Yu-Tzu
 

Typhoon Aere ruined not only natural habitats but also artificial restoration areas for the endangered Formosan freshwater salmon (櫻花鉤吻鮭), also known as the national treasury fish, Shei-Pa National Park's (雪霸國家公園) director said yesterday.

Lin Young-fa (林永發) told the Taipei Times yesterday that about 3,000 members of the endemic species in Chichiawan Stream (七家灣溪) and Kaoshan Creek (高山溪) near Wuling Farm (武陵農場) in Taichung County had been imperiled by recent heavy rainfall.

Lin said the storm not only washed away some of the valuable fish, but also devastated an artificial breeding area for the species.

Park officials could not offer estimates on the extent of the damage because roads leading to the Wuling area were badly damaged.

"We hope some fish would have hidden themselves in protected backwaters," Lin said.

Lin said that some vulnerable fish were relocated to nearby areas when Tropical Storm Mindulle hit central Taiwan on July 2, but that heavy rains this week destroyed most of these habitats. He said fish populations might not be investigated until October's breeding season.

Shei-Pa National Park yesterday also announced its closure due to storm damage. Officials said that three storms in the last two months collapsed roads and destroyed roadbeds in the park.

Lin said ecological conservation in the park had been challenged and that observing changes in habitats would be critically important.

Rescue work continued yesterday in remote Taoshan Village in Wufeng Township, Hsinchu County, where more than 20 houses were engulfed by floods and mudflows within minutes on Wednesday. Rescuers used mini-cranes to dig through sludge and debris six floors deep and found a woman's body.

Hsinchu County Commissioner Cheng Yung-chin (鄭永金) yesterday asked for central government help to remove a 2,000m3 rock from the road leading to Wufeng.

As of yesterday afternoon, the Hsinchu County storm death toll looked likely to keep rising as rescuers continued to search for eight missing people, officials said.

Cheng said that Wufeng and nearby Jianshih remained isolated. The army yesterday brought at least seven cranes and other equipment to villages in need.

Meanwhile, pictures taken of the disaster zone in Wufeng township by the ROCSAT-2 satellite show large-scale landslides occurred near Tuchang.

The photos also show dramatic changes in the paths of three rivers in Wufeng. Many communities abutting these rivers were overwhelmed by flash flooding and mudflows.

As of yesterday, Typhoon Aere had caused NT$508 million worth of damage to the nation's agricultural sector, the Council of Agriculture estimated.