Hualien: On Sept. 23, a historic downpour caused the Matai’an Barrier Lake in Hualien to burst its banks, sending 60 million tons of water and debris through Guangfu Township and killing at least 19 people. The barrier lake’s catastrophic failure has sparked a reckoning with Taiwan’s fragmented approach to disaster management, as well as the long-term costs to an area that has served as a cradle of both Amis culture and Taiwanese baseball.

According to Focus Taiwan, Lee Hong-yuan, a retired National Taiwan University (NTU) professor specializing in hydraulic engineering, indicated that a mix of factors, particularly the lake’s remote mountaintop location, made preventing its collapse through hydraulic engineering extremely difficult. As a result, efforts shifted from prevention to damage mitigation. Lee was summoned by Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang on Sept. 3 to reassess the lake’s overflow risk, which held more than 60 million tons of water at the time, about 60 percent of its full 90-million-ton capacity
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The initial evacuation estimate of 697 people came from a research team from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. Weng Meng-chia, a civil engineering professor at the university, explained that his team’s simulation had overlooked sediment content, which was a key factor that expanded the danger zone in NTU’s later analysis. However, some flooded areas matched his team’s projections but not NTU’s, suggesting Taiwan’s current approach to disaster simulations could use refinement.

The final evacuation zone was decided at a Sept. 21 meeting of the Central Emergency Operation Center, chaired by Liu as Typhoon Ragasa approached Taiwan. It turned out that the area that flooded was close to the final evacuation zone, but most of the deceased were residents of villages under mandatory evacuation orders, prompting scrutiny of how evacuations were carried out. There is now a criminal probe into possible negligent homicide and dereliction of duty by public officials.

According to the interior minister, the cou
nty government in Hualien and lower-level offices were tasked with leading the evacuations, with help from the military and others. Hualien County authorities were aware that 1,837 households needed evacuation 43 hours before the overflow. However, KMT legislator Fu Kun-chi argued that evacuations were the sole responsibility of township and village offices. Datong Village head Chiu Chin-chung mentioned that some villagers refused to leave, leaving little time to escape when the flood hit.

Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang told a Legislative meeting that manpower was not an issue, given military assistance but conceded that improvements could be made in communication and household registration. Lee Hong-yuan suggested a dedicated agency to manage disaster prevention, similar to FEMA in the United States, due to jurisdiction over Matai’an Creek being shared among multiple agencies.

The government is urged to consider relocating entire villages due to unstable slopes around Matai’an. Lee emphasized the need to
protect the culture and language of affected communities. Raway Huiciang, involved in clearing mud in Guangfu, highlighted the importance of preserving the Amis community’s social structure.

The destruction in Guangfu also represents a loss for Taiwanese baseball, as the area has produced numerous professional stars. The Taiwan Indigenous Baseball Development Association expressed the loss of hometown culture and memories due to the flood, which goes beyond material property.