Taiwan drought dries lake, ruins crops

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Some households in Taiwan have been without running water for two days, one week after a monthslong drought dried up the island’s reservoirs and Sun Moon Lake, a popular tourist spot.

Authorities are drilling extra wells and using military planes to dump cloud-seeding chemicals in hopes of triggering rain. The government has also allocated money to extract drinkable water from the sea.

Farmers who need to flood paddies to raise rice, lotus root and other thirsty crops have been hit hard.

“The lotus flowers and seeds I planted don’t produce well,” said Chen Chiu-lang, a farmer in the southern city of Tainan, standing in a dry paddy field.

Rainfall in the seven months through February was less than half the historic average after no typhoons hit Taiwan in 2020 for the first time in 56 years, according to the government.

Households in areas under top-level restrictions include Taiwan’s second-biggest city, Taichung, with 2.8 million people, and Miaoli and Changhua counties.