Wanli Creek River-Channel Red Alert Continues; Highway 20 at Wulu Reopened, Afternoon Thunderstorm Watches End

08:22 Update: Hualien Heavy-Rain Watch, Highway 20 at Wulu Still Blocked; Meishankou-Xiangyang Reopens

Information time: September 5, 2026, 08:22.

Official sources: Highway Bureau and Southern Region Branch; Central Weather Administration information relayed in the Highway Bureau's real-time provincial-highway feed; Water Resources Agency; Agency of Rural Development and Soil and Water Conservation; Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency Hualien Branch; Directorate-General of Personnel Administration.

Affected Indigenous areas and alert levels: The Highway Bureau's September 5 real-time feed lists a Central Weather Administration heavy-rain advisory for Hualien County. Xiulin, Wanrong and Zhuoxi, together with other Indigenous areas directly affected by the Hualien advisory, therefore move to `weather / watch`. This is a weather watch, not red.

In Taitung, Highway 20 at 180K+531 in Wulu, Haiduan Township, was blocked in both directions by a fallen tree at 22:38 on September 4. The official notice projected normal traffic at 08:00 on September 5, but as of this scan the Highway Bureau still lists the road as blocked and no formal clearance notice has been identified. Haiduan therefore remains `transport / watch`; the projected reopening time must not be treated as confirmation that the road has reopened. Separately, Highway 20 Temporary Route 105 from 0K to 44K, Meishankou to Xiangyang, reopened at 07:00 under normal traffic-control rules. These are different road sections and must be assessed independently.

Nationwide regional assessment: In the north, no new threshold-level official change was identified for Wulai, Fuxing, Jianshi, Wufeng, Nanzhuang or Tai'an; Jianshi's existing County Road 60 `transport / watch` remains under observation. In the central region, no new threshold-level official change was identified for Heping, Ren'ai, Xinyi or Alishan, which remain `monitoring`. In the south, no new red or level-one inundation escalation was identified; the Meishankou-Xiangyang South Cross-Island Highway section has returned to normal controlled access, while other existing works or site restrictions remain subject to their authorities. In the east, Hualien adds `weather / watch` and Haiduan's Wulu blockage remains `transport / watch`. The existing Wanli Creek barrier-lake red alert continues only within the river-channel control zone; it does not make all of Wanrong Township red.

Other official alerts: The Water Resources Agency currently shows no inundation, river-water-level or reservoir-release alert. The latest ARDSWC report, Report No. 5 for the September 1 heavy-rain event, records zero red and zero yellow debris-flow alerts and zero red and zero yellow large-scale-landslide alerts; that event ended September 2. The Directorate-General of Personnel Administration's September 5 update states there is no work/class suspension information. No new official evacuation, sheltering, broad transport suspension, major agricultural loss or water/power public-service interruption was identified in this scan.

Recommended action: In Hualien mountain areas, watch for intense short-duration rain, falling rocks, landslides and rapidly rising streams. Entry to the Wanli Creek river-channel red-alert zone remains prohibited. Before traveling to Haiduan or using Highway 20 at Wulu, check the Highway Bureau's live road status; do not infer reopening merely because the projected restoration time has passed. Although Meishankou-Xiangyang has returned to normal controlled access, follow the current traffic-control hours, weather conditions and on-site instructions. Official real-time notices govern.

12:14 Update: Severe-Thunderstorm Nowcasts for Central Taiwan and Hualien Move Indigenous Areas to weather / watch

Information time: September 5, 2026, 12:14.

Official sources: Central Weather Administration severe-thunderstorm nowcasts; Highway Bureau and Southern Region Branch; Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency Hualien Branch; Directorate-General of Personnel Administration; with continued cross-checking of official water and slope-disaster information.

Affected Indigenous areas and alert levels: The Central Weather Administration currently has two severe-thunderstorm nowcasts. Event 1150742 covers Nantou, Yunlin, Chiayi, Taichung and Changhua and is valid until 14:35; event 1150743 targets Hualien County. Within the system's Indigenous-area scope, Heping (Taichung), Ren'ai and Xinyi (Nantou), Alishan (Chiayi), and Xiulin, Wanrong and Zhuoxi (Hualien) are treated as `weather / watch`. Severe-thunderstorm nowcasts are short-lived and dynamic, so the exact footprint and validity shown on the CWA live map govern. These are observation watches, not red and not debris-flow or large-scale-landslide red/yellow alerts.

The CWA notes that strong convective storms can bring lightning, intense rain and strong gusts. Rain falling in stream headwaters can cause rapidly rising downstream water, while mountain areas may face landslides, rockfall and debris-flow hazards. The morning Hualien `weather / watch` had been based on a heavy-rain advisory; the CWA heavy-rain advisory page now shows no active county entries. Hualien remains `weather / watch` in this update because of the new severe-thunderstorm nowcast, not because the earlier advisory is being carried forward.

Nationwide regional assessment: In the north, no new threshold-level official escalation was identified for Wulai, Fuxing, Jianshi, Wufeng, Nanzhuang or Tai'an; Jianshi's existing transport watch continues. In the central region, Heping, Ren'ai, Xinyi and Alishan move to `weather / watch` under the severe-thunderstorm nowcast and must not be labeled red. In the south, no new red alert, level-one inundation alert, road interruption, evacuation, class/work suspension or major public-service escalation was identified in this scan. In the east, Hualien's Indigenous areas are under `weather / watch`; Highway 20 at 180K+531 in Wulu, Haiduan Township remains `transport / watch` because no formal Highway Bureau notice clearing the blockage has been identified. The existing Wanli Creek barrier-lake red alert continues only within the river-channel control zone and does not extend to all of Wanrong Township.

Other official alerts: No new level-one inundation alert, debris-flow or large-scale-landslide escalation, evacuation, sheltering, work/class suspension, major agricultural-loss alert, or water/power public-service interruption was identified in this scan. The Directorate-General of Personnel Administration's September 5 page continues to state there is no work/class suspension information. The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency's September 4 Wanli Creek monitoring update reports the dam body intact and stably overflowing, with 12-hour and 24-hour forecast rainfall below the threshold for issuing a new alert; without a formal cancellation of the river-channel red control, the existing channel red remains in force.

Recommended action: During the severe-thunderstorm validity period, avoid streambeds, river channels and mountain roads prone to rockfall or landslides in central Taiwan and Hualien, and watch for rapid stream rises and intense short-duration rainfall. Check the Highway Bureau's live road status before traveling through Wulu on Highway 20 in Haiduan. Entry to the Wanli Creek river-channel red-alert zone remains prohibited. Official real-time notices govern.

23:53 Update: Highway 20 at Wulu Reopened; Afternoon Thunderstorm Watches End

Information time: September 5, 2026, 23:53.

Official sources: Central Weather Administration weather warnings and severe-thunderstorm nowcasts; Highway Bureau; Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency Hualien Branch; Agency of Rural Development and Soil and Water Conservation; Directorate-General of Personnel Administration; with cross-checking of official water, local disaster-response, and transport notices.

Affected Indigenous areas and alert levels: The Central Weather Administration currently shows no active county weather-warning entries and no active severe-thunderstorm nowcast. The afternoon `weather / watch` status for Heping in Taichung, Ren'ai and Xinyi in Nantou, Alishan in Chiayi, and Xiulin, Wanrong and Zhuoxi in Hualien therefore ends in this update.

For Highway 20 at 180K+531 in Wulu, Haiduan Township, the Highway Bureau has formally announced that the fallen tree was cleared and normal two-way traffic resumed at 07:15 on September 5. The earlier road-interruption `transport / watch` is therefore removed. Travelers should continue to follow current Highway Bureau road information and on-site traffic controls.

The latest official Wanli Creek barrier-lake monitoring at 08:10 on September 5 reports a water elevation of 1,087.76 meters and storage of about 5.4494 million cubic meters. Forecast rainfall for both the next 12 and 24 hours is 13.6 mm, below the threshold for issuing a new alert. The dam remains intact, the lake is stably overflowing, and downstream impacts are confined to the river channel. However, this scan did not identify a formal cancellation of the August 24 control that explicitly kept the river channel under red alert and closed to entry. Accordingly, `barrier-lake / red` remains limited to the Wanli Creek river-channel control zone and must not be expanded to all of Wanrong Township.

Nationwide regional assessment: In the north, no new heavy-rain, severe-thunderstorm, level-one inundation, slope-alert escalation, Indigenous-area road interruption, evacuation, work/class suspension, or major public-service interruption was identified for Wulai in New Taipei, Fuxing in Taoyuan, Jianshi and Wufeng in Hsinchu, and Nanzhuang and Tai'an in Miaoli; existing observation items remain under authority monitoring. In central Taiwan, the afternoon weather watches for Heping in Taichung, Ren'ai and Xinyi in Nantou, and Alishan in Chiayi have expired, with no new threshold-level change identified. In the south, no new red alert, level-one inundation alert, road interruption, evacuation, work/class suspension, transport stoppage, or major public-service interruption was identified for Tainan mountain areas; Taoyuan, Namaxia and Maolin in Kaohsiung; or Sandimen, Wutai, Majia, Taiwu, Laiyi, Chunri, Shizi and Mudan in Pingtung. In the east, Datong and Nan'ao in Yilan; Xiulin, Wanrong and Zhuoxi in Hualien; and Beinan, Yanping, Haiduan, Daren, Jinfeng, Taimali, Dawu and Lanyu in Taitung have no continuing afternoon weather watch; the Wulu road has reopened. The highest currently publishable alert remains the Wanli Creek river-channel red control.

Other official alerts: ARDSWC's latest systemwide event remains the September 1 heavy-rain event, which ended at 17:01 on September 2; Report No. 5 records zero red and zero yellow debris-flow alerts and zero red and zero yellow large-scale-landslide alerts. The Directorate-General of Personnel Administration's 23:34 update on September 5 still states there is no work/class suspension information. No new level-one inundation alert, officially reported stream surge, slope-alert escalation, evacuation, sheltering, major agricultural-loss alert, water/power interruption, or other Indigenous-area public-service disruption was identified in this scan.

Recommended action: Entry to the Wanli Creek river-channel red-alert control zone remains prohibited. Other Indigenous areas remain under monitoring; check the latest responsible-authority information before mountain or road travel. Official real-time notices govern.