(Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Railways Administration)
Taipei, June 17 (CNA) The Alishan Forest Recreation Area closed at 3 p.m. on Saturday due to persistent heavy rains, the Chiayi Forest District Office announced.
Whether the area will re-open on Sunday will hinge on the conditions of roads leading to Alishan and the amount of precipitation.
The office said the combination of a stationary weather front and southwesterly winds has led to accumulated rainfall of over 240 millimeters over the past 24 hours, according to data from the weather monitoring station at Alishan.
The heavy rains also led to the suspension of service on all lines of the Alishan Forest Railway on Saturday and the railway will also be closed on Sunday.
The office urged people not to travel to mountainous areas for the time being and to avoid all trails around Alishan because of their vulnerability to falling trees or rocks, landslides or flooding.
