Experts warn of monster mudslides in Taiwan

TAIPEI (AFP) - Southern Taiwan could experience even bigger mudslides than those that buried hundreds alive last year, when the worst typhoon in half a century hit the island, experts warned Thursday.

Fuyuan Hsiao displays the latest edition of Common Wealth Magazine showing a damaged bridge after Typhoon Morakot (© AFP/File - Sam Yeh)

Typhoon Morakot touched off massive landslides in August, killing about 700 people, including an estimated 400 buried in the village of Hsiaolin alone.

But experts said that worse could be in store.

"In the next 20 years or so, southern Taiwan could face many more mudslides, as the area is hit by typhoons and heavy rain. That's fate," said civil engineering professor Lee Hong-yuan of National Taiwan University.

The main reason why Morakot was so devastating was that it unleashed up to 400 million cubic metres (14 billion cubic feet) of sand and rock from hills and mountainsides.

However, Morakot also loosened up twice as much debris, which could now engulf lower-lying areas. "It could happen any time," said Lee, who was speaking at a seminar in Taipei.

Lee and other experts called on the government to adopt preventive measures, including new curbs on the use of land in mountainous areas.

"Otherwise, the pace of reconstruction would never be able to catch up with disasters," Lee said.

Reconstruction projects following natural disasters have cost the government 65 billion Taiwan dollars (two billion US) in the eight years to 2008.

The government has set aside more than 100 billion Taiwan dollars more to deal with the havoc wrought by Typhoon Morakot.