Li, Hsin-Chi, Lung-Sheng Hsieh, Liang-Chun Chen, Lee-Yaw Lin & Wei-Sen Li (2014)Disaster investigation and analysis of Typhoon Morakot. Journal of the Chinese Institute of Engineers, 37(5): 558-569.
Typhoon Morakot first struck Taiwan on 6 August 2009, which led to a much more serious disaster than the notorious ‘August 7th Flood’ which occurred 50 years previously; it broke records for almost all meteorological observing data with an estimated rainfall in five days surpassing Taiwan's annual average rainfall of 2500 mm. Such a huge amount of rainfall caused more serious damage than the 921 earthquake. The typhoon left 620 people dead, 80 people missing, and over NT$90 billion in total direct property losses in 2009. Therefore, within one week after the disaster, the National Science Council requested the National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction to investigate the disasters caused by Typhoon Morakot and to carry out a comprehensive investigation to better understand the type, numbers, and scale of the disasters. Meanwhile, this investigation also aims to better understand the causes and to spot potentially dangerous areas. Our key focuses include: flooding, water facilities, landslides, debris flows, bridges, traffic, and agricultural losses. Finally, based on an intensive investigation, analysis, and review results, we hope to develop both short-term and long-term countermeasures for future disaster prevention reference.