Taiwanese are slowly going back to the normal life after suffering severe damages caused by the Sinlaku Tyhoon which causes more than 500 mm of rain fall in most of the Taiwanese counties in Taiwan. The damages including breaking bridges in half, and collapsing tunnel to bury passengers trapped inside vehicles alive.
Three-quarter of Taiwanese lands are mountains or hills. Most of them are not suitable of building residences. During the Japanese occupation, there were strict building codes on the hills and mountains. When Nationalist Chinese took over Taiwan in 1945, those codes were relaxed because of the influx of additional 1.5 million Chinese refugees. This factor plus 65 years of mis-management, Taiwan has lost many forest to either farm or residence. Additionally, most of the grounds that can absorb rain falls to underground are covered with concrete. Each time, there is a rain fall, there are floods, and mud-slides.
The mis-management includes building bridges or tunnels not according to the codes. Some bridges should be repaired and close are still allowed to open. The tragedy is heart-wrenching.
Photos shows the newspaper report about the damages caused by the Sinlaku Typhoon in Taiwan.
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