Torrential rain from Typhoon Mekkhala shut down large parts of southern Taiwan on Thursday (25 June), leaving more than five million people off work or school as flooding cut sections of the island’s main rail line and forced evacuations.

Although Typhoon Mekkhala did not make landfall, its outer rain bands brought intense downpours to the southern cities of Kaohsiung, Tainan and Pingtung, prompting local authorities to close offices and schools across the region.

Severe flooding in Tainan forced the closure of part of Taiwan’s main north-south railway line, though the island’s separate high-speed rail network remained operational.

No casualties have been reported so far, but emergency authorities in eastern Hualien County began evacuating nearly 200 residents from two townships downstream of a rapidly filling barrier lake in the mountains.

Barrier lakes form when landslides or rockfalls block rivers, trapping water and raising the risk of sudden breaches.

Heightened Concern

Authorities remain on high alert after a similar barrier lake breach in Hualien during Super Typhoon Ragasa last year killed 19 people, unleashing destructive floods and mudslides into nearby communities.

Forecasters say heavy rain is expected to continue across Taiwan for at least another week, though conditions are forecast to gradually ease.

Despite the disruption, the rainfall is expected to help replenish reservoirs after Taiwan’s typically dry winter months, with the island heavily reliant on summer and autumn typhoon systems for water supply. 

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