Starting on September 22, Typhoon Ragasa pummeled Taiwan’s eastern coast with rain, causing deadly flooding in Hualien County. Matai’an Creek barrier lake collapsed because of the flooding; 18 people were killed while six are still missing. The majority of those killed were elderly individuals on the first floors of residences in Hualien’s Guangfu township who could not evacuate in time.
Taiwan’s eastern coast is prone to both earthquakes and typhoons. Last year on April 3, a 7.4 earthquake struck Hualien, killing ten and injuring over 1,100. This was the country’s largest earthquake since the devastating 1999 Jiji earthquake in Nantou in southern Taiwan, which killed over 2,400 and injured 11,305. Building codes and disaster relief measures were drastically overhauled in the wake of the Jiji earthquake, often referred to as the 921 earthquake in Taiwan, which may have contributed to the reduced death toll in the Hualien quake.
In the wake of the 2024 earthquake, Hualien continued to be hit by smaller aftershocks. In May of this year, Hualien was hit by a 6.4 earthquake. Afterward, Hualien again experienced hundreds of aftershocks, affecting transportation links and leaving parts of the county inaccessible.
Adding to the problem, the parts of Taiwan that are most susceptible to natural disasters are also lacking in resources compared to the rest of the country. And disasters only exacerbate this issue further.
As Hualien’s economy is heavily dependent on tourism, the decline in visitors in the wake of earthquakes and natural disasters hits hard. Past natural disasters have resulted in famous tourist attractions such as the Taroko Gorge becoming inaccessible.
With images of the damage caused by Typhoon Ragasa circulating across Taiwan, tens of thousands of disaster relief volunteers congregated in Hualien. Donations of safety helmets, shovels, and other equipment have occurred at such a scale that this has sometimes clogged highways and other transportation routes. Around 500 million Taiwanese dollars, from more than 200,000 separate donations, have been donated to disaster relief through a bank account for donations set up by the government.
Taiwan’s tallest skyscraper, Taipei 101, lit up on September 30 to thank the “shovel heroes” who contributed to the disaster relief. Much news coverage has focused on foreign volunteer workers in the relief effort, including Ukrainians, Indonesians, and Vietnamese living in Taiwan. In addition to the volunteers, over 10,000 troops were deployed for reconstruction efforts.
Although water has been restored to some of the affected townships, some homes still experience low water pressure. Some 135 staff members of the Central Emergency Operation Center were on hand to repair pipes and 27 water stations were established to provide water. Mud and debris is expected to be removed within the first week of October and services are to be restored before the Mid-Autumn Festival on October 6.
And yet partisan splits have continued in spite of the typhoon. This follows a familiar pattern in Taiwan in the past decade, where Kuomintang (KMT) or Taiwan People’s Party-controlled local governments lash out at the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-controlled central government with allegations that it is not doing enough to help affected localities, or that it is seeking to sabotage the disaster response in order to profit. This was most visible during the COVID-19 pandemic, when pan-Blue local governments and the central government leveled accusations at each other about vaccine distribution, information sharing, relief funds, and other controversies.
The conflict between pan-Blue local governments and the central government has become particularly acute after budget cuts spearheaded by the legislature, which is controlled by a pan-Blue majority, earlier this year. While affecting the overall national budget, the cuts led to a reduction in subsidies from the central government to local governments.
Disasters that hit Hualien are a particularly sensitive political matter, as the county is the political stronghold of KMT legislative caucus leader Fu Kun-chi. Fu represents Hualien in the Legislative Yuan, while Hualien county magistrate Hsu Chen-wei is Fu’s wife.
Historically a controversial figure in the KMT, Fu was formerly Hualien county magistrate before his jailing on insider trading charges. Before his jailing, Fu divorced Hsu and named her deputy county commissioner so that she would become acting county magistrate during his time in prison. As such, Fu has long been accused of running a political dynasty in Hualien that controls the county, leading to his being nicknamed “King of Hualien.”
At the time of his conviction, Fu was kicked out of the KMT, but he was later welcomed back into the party in 2021. His rise through the ranks to become legislative caucus leader was not without controversy. Fu was accused of vote buying in the KMT Central Committee meeting by fellow legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (though Hsu has since politically reconciled with Fu).
After the earthquake in May, Fu was criticized for taking a trip to Hong Kong during which he met with government officials. Fu appeared to try to hide his trip, posting a photo of himself apparently sick at home to explain his absence from the legislature. His trip to Hong Kong was later disclosed by KMT Legislative Yuan president Han Kuo-yu. Fu came under fire over the perception that he had abandoned Hualien shortly after the earthquake to travel to Hong Kong.
In the wake of Typhoon Ragasa, Fu sought to turn the tables and pin blame on the central government. While inspecting the damage with Premier Cho Jung-tai of the DPP, Fu criticized the Executive Yuan for alleged inaction, sparking a public argument between Fu and Cho.
Likewise, Fu later criticized the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture for preventing the flooding of the barrier lake, suggesting that it should have been blown up ahead of time. The agency later released a video in response, asserting that the barrier lake could not be diverted or blasted before the flooding.
Separately, online allegations have circulated that the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency did not issue an evacuation warning to the Hualien county government ahead of time. The agency later released documentation to show that its Hualien branch issued an evacuation warning at 7 a.m. on the day of the deadly flooding – well before the barrier lake broke at 2 p.m.
Other online rumors allege that victims of the flooding have had to show a “disaster relief identification” in order to prove that they were genuinely displaced by the flooding when seeking food or other supplies. The Hualien county government responded to this criticism by clarifying that such identification is only necessary for those residing in shelters at present.
For its part, the central government has tried to convey an image of a swift and decisive response, with President Lai Ching-te vowing that those displaced by the flooding will be provided for by the government and that levees destroyed by flooding will be repaired within the month. According to Lai, families of victims of the flooding will receive NT$1 million each.
Amid the politicking, it is an open question as to who the public will see as responsible for the damage caused by Typhoon Ragasa. After all, even if there is anger against Fu over his perceived responsibility for the budget cuts earlier this year, he easily survived a recall vote during the Great Recall Movement.