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2009-10-14 07:53:53
Tue Oct 13, 5:42 am ET
TAIPEI (AFP) Global warming will cause the amount of heavy rain dumped on
Taiwan to triple over the next 20 years, facing the government with the urgent
need to beef up flood defences, a scientist warned Tuesday.
The projection is based on data showing the incidence of heavy rain has doubled
in the past 45 years, coinciding with a global rise in temperatures, said Liu
Shaw-chen of Taiwan's leading research institute Academia Sinica.
The estimate comes two months after Taiwan was lashed by Typhoon Morakot, the
worst to hit the island in half a century, leaving more than 600 deaths in its
wake.
"The government will need to enhance its land planning and flood prevention
measures since we'll be seeing more and more Typhoon Morakots in the future,"
said Liu, who heads the institute's Research Center for Environmental Changes.
The island's temperature has also been going up, reflected in figures from the
capital city Taipei, where the number of days with "excessive heat" over 36
degree Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit) has doubled since 1961, he said.
Morakot struck Taiwan in early August, unleashing a record three metres (10
feet) of rain, triggering widespread flooding and massive landslides.
The island's government faced a wave of public anger over its handling of the
disaster, plunging President Ma Ying-jeou into his worst political crisis since
taking office in May 2008.