Moonwatching is not an uncommon activity in Taiwan, but August’s super blue moon is causing unexpectedly high tides and flooding in Yunlin County.
Seawater has flooded the roads around Boziliao Fishing Harbor in Yunlin. In some areas, the depth of the flooding has reached knee height, making travel inconvenient or even dangerous. Ocean conditions are rough and waves have made boat travel difficult for the fishermen collecting their last hauls.
Weather Station Director Ke Jun-xian (柯俊賢) explains that the unusually high tides causing the rising water are due to the upcoming super blue moon. A supermoon occurs when a moon is full at the same time it is closest in its orbit of the Earth. A blue moon is actually not blue, but the second full moon in a month. As rare as this phenomenon is, the lunar pull is wreaking havoc on Taiwan’s shoreline.
Yunlin District Fisheries Association Director-General Lin Chuan-yu (林傳育) expresses his nervousness at how the waters have reached the building’s front doors. Residents may be forced to evacuate for higher ground.
For those not seeking shelter from high tides, have a look at this cosmic occurrence as it will be the last until 2037. Truly a once-in-a-blue-moon occasion.