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Man-made archipelago
can power and protect
By Tsao Chi-hung 曹啟鴻
The earthquake THAT struck eastern Japan on March 11 last year caused not only
direct destruction, but also a tsunami and a serious accident at a nuclear power
plant. Despite Japan’s robustness as a nation, it could not ward off such a
heavy blow.
As Japan works to resettle 300,000 residents, there is a high suicide rate among
them and the process of reconstruction is full of arduous challenges. It would
be good if we in Taiwan could refer to Japan’s experience and think about
effective ways of preventing disasters, while improving Taiwan’s capacity to
handle them.
Last year, the Central Geological Survey (中央地質調查所) published a research report
on the likelihood of a tsunami resulting from geological events under the seas
around Taiwan. The report concluded that Pingtung County and Greater Kaohsiung,
on the southwestern coast, are seriously threatened by geological events in the
nearby Manila Trench. Should a strong fault dislocation occur, it could generate
a massive tsunami. Coastal areas of Pingtung suffer from serious land subsidence
and Hengchun Township (恆春) in Pingtung County is the location of the nation’s
third nuclear power plant. It would be hard for these areas to withstand the
onslaught of a tsunami, so active steps should be taken to stem the threat of
disaster.
Some civic groups in Japan are calling for soil and rubble from the disaster to
be used to create man-made islands on which to settle some of the surviving
victims. It would be good if Taiwan’s government could review its environmental
planning, and use the huge quantity of sand and gravel washed down by Typhoon
Morakot in August 2009 to construct groups of artificial islands off the
southwest coast. The islands could be used to develop renewable sources of
energy. In the event of a tsunami, the islands would act as a first line of
breakwaters, dissipating the tsunami’s energy and reducing its impact,
safeguarding the Taiwanese mainland, just as the Matsushima islands in Japan
weakened the tsunami and lessened the damage caused by it to nearby coastal
areas.
Should the need arise, these man-made islands would prevent disaster by
weakening and blocking the tsunami wave, thus providing a protective shield for
Taiwan, like a Great Wall of the sea.
In constructing such islands, the authorities should move away from past
practices under which land reclaimed from the sea in many places has been used
to build highly polluting heavy industrial plants. Instead, the islands should
be used to produce green, clean energy by installing vertical permanent magnet
wind generators, facilities for producing hydrogen for fuel, or even tide-power
generators. If Taiwan abandons nuclear power, these islands could help provide
needed electricity, as well as lessening the impact of a tsunami.
The man-made archipelagos could also be used for farming seafood and this could
relieve the problem of land subsidence caused by the excessive drawing of
underground water by existing fish farms.
When protesters take to the streets calling for the complete abolition of
nuclear power, a responsible government should not dodge the issue by claiming
that no nuclear power would mean no electricity. Instead, it should make efforts
to develop alternative sources of energy.
New opportunities will only be found by thinking outside the box. One year after
the massive earthquake, tsunami and nuclear calamity struck Japan, let us hope
that the above will prompt the government and civic groups to have more active
discussions about policies for handling tsunamis, nuclear accidents and other
major disasters.
Tsao Chi-hung is the commissioner of Pingtung County.
Translated by Julian Clegg
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