Taiwan is going through its worst drought in 56 years. Tight water supplies are mostly affecting central and southern Taiwan. Over the past few days, a storm system has brought much needed rain to parts of central Taiwan. However, there are still some areas that are missing out on the rain.
This is Sun Moon Lake in Central Taiwan. The biggest news coming out of here is that it’s finally raining! This ain’t no small drizzle either. This is a full-blown downpour. ‘So what?’ you’re asking. ‘It’s just some rain, right?’
Well, Taiwan is going through its worst drought in decades, and water supplies are tightest in the central and southern parts of the country. Sun Moon Lake’s Wushe reservoir, here in central Taiwan, raked in a cool 250,000 tons of water during this round of rain.
Weather experts say that the storm system alleviated the drought, albeit just a little. It’s not time to celebrate yet. A small farming neighborhood a few kilometers away only got a few drops of rain. Tea farmers out here are pressed for water. Right now, they depend on underground wells to irrigate their crops, but they say doing so is expensive. Their profits are getting washed away by the water bill. But there’s not much people can do when it comes to forces of nature. The only option is to stick it out and wait for Mother Nature to make it rain.