Hualien: Landslides caused by heavy precipitation in Hualien County forced the closure of a section of Provincial Highway No. 9 in the eastern Taiwan county, according to the Highway Bureau. The bureau stated that intense afternoon heat convection resulted in heavy rain, with an accumulated 52.5 millimeters falling in just one hour around the Qingshui Cliffs in Taroko National Park on the Hualien coast.

According to Focus Taiwan, following the downpour, landslides occurred at the 164.5-kilometer mark and the 162.9-kilometer mark on the highway, prompting the closure of two-way traffic between Heren and Chongde in Hualien starting from 4:30 p.m. Personnel using large-sized vehicles are currently working to restore traffic around Chongde, with traffic between Heren and Chongde expected to be restored around 9 p.m.

On Sunday, floodwaters and landslides amid heavy rain also interrupted traffic on the Heren-Chongde section of Taiwan Railway's line, stopping both northbound and southbound traffic. Currently, Hualien-bound trains from Taipei are only available from Taipei to Su'ao, and Taipei-bound trains from Taitung are only running from Taitung to Hualien, as reported by the railway company.

To accommodate more passengers on its eastern line, Taiwan Railway announced that additional trains with unreserved seats from Taipei to Su'ao and from Taitung to Hualien have been available since Tuesday afternoon. The railway company is working to fix the Heren-Chongde railway section, expecting one-way traffic to be restored on Wednesday and two-way traffic on Saturday.

Due to the significant disruption of both highway and railway traffic, many tourists planning to travel to Taipei have had to take a train along the South Link Line to southern Taiwan, then continue to Taipei by train or highway from Kaohsiung in the west. Alternatively, some travelers are opting to fly to Taipei.

In a conversation with reporters, Transportation Minister Chen Shih-kai mentioned that the ministry will arrange more flights for passengers on Tuesday and Wednesday, with additional ships available from Wednesday.

According to the Central Weather Administration, a heavy rain alert or extremely heavy rain alert has been announced for Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung in the east. An extremely heavy rain advisory warns of over 200 mm of rain in 24 hours or 100 mm in three hours, while a heavy rain advisory indicates more than 80 millimeters of rain within 24 hours or more than 40 millimeters in a single hour is expected.