Loss of Innocence: Matai’an Creek Barrier Lake Flood – Ms. Panay

On September 23rd, 2025, the barrier lake on Matai’an Creek (Fata’an in the Amis language) overflowed, causing severe flooding in Guangfu Township, Hualien County, Taiwan. The disaster killed 19 people, injured more than one hundred residents, and left five people missing. Floodwaters carrying large amounts of mud and debris rushed into nearby communities, damaging homes, roads, schools, and other public facilities.

Taiwan is located in the western North Pacific, a region frequently affected by tropical cyclones. Around 25 tropical cyclones form across the western North Pacific each year, and an average of about three affect Taiwan. Although earthquakes and typhoons are familiar natural hazards for people in Taiwan, the Matai’an disaster showed how typhoons, heavy rainfall, landslides, and local geographical conditions can combine to create a much more serious crisis.

The barrier lake formed in the upper reaches of Matai’an Creek after heavy rainfall brought by Typhoon Wipha triggered major landslides on July 21st, 2025. The landslides blocked the river and created an unstable natural dam. During the following weeks, more rainfall continued to raise the lake’s water level. The situation became increasingly dangerous after Typhoon Podul brought further heavy rain in August.

As Typhoon Ragasa approached Taiwan in September, the risk of the barrier lake overflowing became a growing concern. On the afternoon of September 23rd, the lake overflowed, releasing floodwaters, mud, and debris into downstream areas of Guangfu Township.

The flood reached residential areas within a very short time. Familiar homes were suddenly filled with water, mud, and damaged objects, leaving many residents with little time to respond. International and Taiwanese media reports noted that many of the people who died were found on the ground floors of their homes. This showed how quickly ordinary living spaces could become dangerous during the disaster.

The disaster received wide attention in Taiwan and abroad and raised important questions about disaster monitoring, evacuation planning, risk communication, and cooperation between different levels of government. Although the causes and responsibilities must be carefully reviewed, no investigation can undo the loss experienced by the affected families.

Interviewee’s Background

Panay (the name provided by the interviewee) is an Amis university student from Guangfu Township, Hualien County, Taiwan. When the Matai’an Creek barrier lake overflow occurred in September 2025, she was seventeen years old and had only recently begun university.

After learning that her hometown had been flooded, Panay returned to Guangfu. Although her family members survived, their home and community suffered serious damage. She temporarily put aside her university studies and became involved in local recovery work, including helping at a temporary command center and coordinating volunteers. She also spent time with younger members of her family who had been affected by the disaster.

Interview

Editor’s note: This interview was conducted in Mandarin Chinese and translated into English. The following text is an edited Q&A rather than a verbatim transcript. The questions have been reordered by topic, and some closely related follow-up questions and answers have been combined. Verbal fillers and exact repetitions have been reduced, while meaningful hesitation, uncertainty, and self-correction have been retained. No new facts, emotions, or causal claims have been added to the interviewee’s responses. At the interviewee’s request, some family roles, location details, and other potentially identifying information have been generalized. The dashboard-camera footage mentioned in the interview was not provided to or viewed by the researcher.

Q: What were you doing when the Matai’an Creek barrier lake overflowed on September 23, 2025? What had your everyday life been like in the days before the disaster?

In the days before it happened, I remember that I was still very happy. I even went singing. I had only started university one or two weeks earlier. My department was holding a welcome event for first-year students on the evening of the disaster. When I first learned what had happened, I was in class. Not long afterward, videos began appearing in our group chats showing that something had happened back home.

Q: How did you understand what was happening when you first saw those videos?

At first, it did not feel real. I was shocked when I saw the videos, but I had not yet understood that this was actually happening to my home. I did not really believe it. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that I did not want to believe it was true.

Q: You mentioned receiving information through your Amis age-grade group. Did older relatives or community members also explain what was happening?

Yes. My family also has a group chat, but everything happened too quickly for them to explain the situation at first. My sister and the children with her were able to get into a vehicle with my eldest uncle and leave. However, my grandmother and two of my aunts could not get out in time. The water came too quickly, so they could only go upstairs and take shelter there.

It was more than an hour before I learned that they had not escaped. One of my aunts contacted me. Through a video call, she showed me the water that had risen around them. She told me that my grandmother and another aunt had originally been in the older house. Because the house was shaking, they climbed across the sheet-metal structure between the houses and reached an upstairs room in the other house. I still do not know where my grandmother found the strength to climb across.

They told me that they were safe for the moment. They would wait for the water to go down and then see whether anyone could come to rescue them. They told me not to worry.

Q: When did you feel most afraid and helpless?

The most frightening moment was when I learned that they had not escaped. There was nothing I could do. We did not know when the water would go down or who would be able to rescue them. Only my aunt’s husband had prepared a first-aid kit. I kept wondering when their drinking water would run out. I was also especially worried about my grandmother. I kept thinking, “What is she going to do?”

Q: You were still at university when you learned that your family was trapped. Who supported you most at that moment?

I called my cousin, who was also in class at another university. She cried in the hallway of her school, and I cried in the hallway of mine. We kept asking each other, “What are we going to do? Grandma is still upstairs.” We supported each other and gave each other some warmth. I did not dare bring my emotions to the adults in my family. I felt that they were already more tired and under more pressure than I was. I did not dare cry in front of them. I thought that the least I could do was take care of myself. At that moment, my cousin and I could only lean on each other.

Q: What were you thinking as you travelled back to Guangfu?

I kept trying to find things that would distract me. At the same time, I was trying to accept the fact that my home had really become like that. I do not remember thinking about much else. My strongest thought was simply that I wanted to get back as quickly as possible.

Q: What happened when you finally saw that your family was safe?

When I saw them, I knew that if I cried, they would cry too, so I held it in. We did not say anything special. We just kept saying, “As long as everyone is safe. That is what matters.”

Q: After confirming that your family was safe, you immediately became involved in the disaster response. What was your first task?

On the first day after I returned, I was assigned to help organize and clear space inside an elementary school because we needed to turn part of it into a temporary command center. Once most of the space had been prepared, I began helping with reception and record-keeping at the entrance of the school. I recorded who lived in the area, which organizations had arrived, and what supplies they had donated. After two or three days, we also began patrolling the area. If we heard that more water might be coming, we had to warn elderly residents who were still in their homes. Many elderly residents still wanted to stay at home.

Q: When did volunteers begin to arrive?

Volunteers began arriving within the first week, but everything was still very chaotic at that time.

Q: How did your role change as more volunteers began to arrive?

Around the fourth day after I returned, my role began to change. When volunteers arrived, I had to tell them where help was needed and where they should go. So what had started as reception and record-keeping gradually became volunteer coordination.

Q: When were you finally able to enter your home and begin clearing the mud?

It was about a week before we could begin clearing mud from the house. Before that, I could only look at our home from a distance because it was farther inside the affected area. To get home, I had to pass a junior high school. The school’s wall had completely collapsed. It had been washed away by the water. My feelings were already very complicated when I saw that.

Q: What did you think when you finally entered your home?

I was trying to accept what had happened. When I saw the house, I kept thinking, “How could it have become like this? Is this really my home?” I still could not quite believe it and did not want to believe it. At the same time, I had to accept that it was real. It was a very complicated feeling.

Q: Was there a part of your home where you especially liked to spend time? What did it look like after the disaster?

Probably the courtyard. We used to barbecue there, sit around a fire, and gather outside to talk. After the flood, the whole area was covered in mud. At first, we could see only the roof and the mud. You could no longer see the shape of a home. Everything had been disturbed. A table might be on top, other objects might be underneath, and mud filled all the spaces between them.

It was not that I could not recognize anything. I knew where I was, and I knew what some of the objects were. I just did not know how to describe it. I had only one thought: “Is this really my home? How did my home become like this?” The refrigerator had been pushed against the wall, the roof was damaged, and everything was in disorder. We measured the mud inside the house. It was 1.83 metres high. It had covered almost everything.

Q: You experienced a very rapid transition – from returning home, to confirming that your family was safe, to working at the command center and coordinating volunteers. How did that experience affect you?

That whole period felt very unreal, almost like a dream. It felt as though I was being forced to grow up. I was at an awkward age. Could I still call myself a child? I was already capable of helping. But could I call myself an adult? I was not yet able to make important decisions. It felt as though I had to depend on myself and force myself to grow up.

Q: How did the Amis age-grade system affect your sense of responsibility during the disaster response?

Because we have the age-grade system, I felt that I could not simply stand to one side and watch. I felt that I should go and help. I should do something. However, I was not yet old enough to make decisions. I could only follow the instructions given by the older members. At the same time, I could no longer respond like a child and say, “This is too difficult. I do not want to do it. I cannot do it.”

The younger children in my family were still in elementary school. They were staying with my grandmother in temporary accommodation nearby. Even when I was exhausted, I felt that I could not simply stay there, sleep, and say that I did not want to go out and help. It was not that I did not want to help. I was simply very tired.

Q: Did the presence of younger children in your family make you feel that you had to behave like an adult?

Panay: Yes. My nieces and nephews made me feel that I should act like an adult.

Q: As their aunt, how did you deal with the pressure you were experiencing?

Panay: When I saw them, I did not dare cry. I felt that I could not cry. I kept suppressing my emotions, so there was never really a time when I processed them. I simply kept forcing myself to continue. There was no particular moment when I felt that I had finally dealt with what I was feeling.

Q: Were you eventually able to release some of that pressure?

Panay: Later, as the house gradually began to recover and slowly started to look like a home again, the pressure seemed to disappear naturally. But the wound is still there. It just does not hurt as much anymore.

Q: What changes did you observe in your nieces and nephews after the disaster? How did they understand what had happened?

I knew that they understood. They understood that the house had become like that, that they could not go to school, and that their belongings were gone. They also spoke to me about these things. While staying in temporary accommodation, they were very quiet. They did not make trouble. I felt that they had become more mature and better behaved. They seemed more careful not to make the adults angry and more willing to remain quietly where they were.

Q: Did the adults try to soften the situation when explaining it to them?

Not really, because they had experienced it themselves. I watched the dashboard-camera footage. It showed them getting into the vehicle after realizing that the water was coming. When the vehicle could not move, they quickly picked up buckets and began scooping out the water. Otherwise, the vehicle could not move.

Q: During the long period of clearing and rebuilding, did people find any ways to relax or make the work less difficult?

This may sound like a stereotype, but drinking was one of the ways. We drank almost every day – well, perhaps not almost every day. It was more that wherever you went, there always seemed to be someone holding a drink. We had a blue crate with alcohol inside it. Whether someone wanted to take one was up to them.

Q: Your family still held a barbecue during the Mid-Autumn Festival. How did that happen?

By that time, most of the house had been cleared, and the courtyard was clean enough to use again. Barbecuing during festivals has always been an unspoken tradition in our family. I remember that another cousin of mine and I saw how many volunteers had come to help us and how hard they were working. We originally went to the supermarket to buy a case of drinks for them. While we were there, we thought that perhaps we should still have a Mid-Autumn Festival barbecue. He said, “Life still has to go on.” We bought a portable gas stove and some meat. Then we returned home and gathered together to barbecue.

Q: Were you happy that evening?

I was quite happy. It felt very much like our ordinary family life, but at the same time, it did not feel ordinary at all. I felt that as long as everyone was still there, our home was still there too. Although our house had already become like that, at least everyone was still there. The way we interacted with one another still felt the same as before. The environment was different, and everyone looked more tired, but the atmosphere between us was still the same.

Q: Did that evening make you believe that your home could eventually be rebuilt?

No, because I had always believed that we would rebuild it. I always believed that. It was only a matter of time.

Q: Was there anything else that made that Mid-Autumn Festival especially meaningful?

We invited some of the volunteers who had been especially dedicated to join the barbecue and enjoy the evening with us. It was a way of thanking them for being willing to help us. We did not know them, and they did not know us, but they were still willing to come and help clear our home.

Q: Because one of your family members was involved in local disaster-preparedness work, you became involved in the disaster response soon after returning home. During the following two months, how did you adjust between being a member of an affected family, a university student, and a participant in the community response?

The first identity I gave up was being a student. There was not much difference between being part of an affected family and participating in the community response because everyone around us was also affected. Everyone was a disaster victim. I temporarily put aside my identity as a student. Everyone was also under a great deal of pressure. My family sometimes argued or spoke loudly. During that time, I would think, “All right, we just have to tolerate one another. What else can we do?”

Q: What happened to your university studies during those two months?

My studies were essentially suspended because I was not attending classes. Even if someone had asked me to sit in a classroom, I would not have had the concentration to study. I did not have any energy left to take care of that part of my life. It felt as though school was the only thing I could give up at that time.

Q: Looking back on those two months – from feeling helpless and supporting your cousin, to participating in the disaster response and coordinating volunteers – what has this experience left with you? Has it changed how you imagine your future?

That period still feels like a dream. I never imagined that something like this could happen. When I think about it now, I still feel very sad. But it has also made me value my everyday life more. Perhaps one day another flood could happen in the place where I live. What could I do then? All I can do is cherish my everyday life, cherish the present, and feel even more deeply attached to that place.

Reflections

Before learning about the Matai’an Creek barrier lake overflow, I thought natural disasters in Taiwan mainly meant earthquakes and typhoons. I had never heard of a barrier lake overflow before. Although I learned about the disaster through news reports, it was not until I listened to Panay’s personal story that I truly understood how serious it was.

One detail that has stayed with me is her description of the floodwaters washing away a school wall and the 1.83 metres of mud inside her family home. During the interview, I was reminded of anthropologist Mary Douglas’s idea of “matter out of place.” The mud was no longer just part of nature. It entered a place where it did not belong and turned a warm family home into an unfamiliar and damaged space.

Through Panay’s story, I also came to understand this year’s YGRP theme, “Loss of Innocence,” in a much deeper way. At only seventeen years old, she had to put aside her own fear and support her younger nieces and nephews. While her own home was still covered in mud, she was already helping organize volunteers and relief work. The disaster forced her to grow up much earlier than she expected.

At the same time, I was deeply moved by the “shovel superheroes” – volunteers from across Taiwan who came to help complete strangers. Their actions showed the strength of community support and reminded me that people can come together even in the most difficult times. Although Taiwan’s disaster prevention and evacuation systems can still be improved, the resilience of the Amis community and the kindness of these volunteers gave people hope.

This interview taught me that recovering from a disaster is not only about rebuilding houses. It is also about rebuilding relationships, a sense of home, and hope. I believe Taiwan can continue to learn from experiences like this and improve its disaster response so that young people and affected families do not have to face future disasters alone.

References

Campbell, J., Hamacher, F., & Wang, A. (2025, September 26). Taiwan rescuers battle thick mud to look for missing from Super Typhoon Ragasa. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/taiwan-rescuers-battle-thick-mud-look-missing-super-typhoon-ragasa-2025-09-26/

Central Emergency Operations Center. (2025, October 8). 1141008花蓮馬太鞍溪堰塞湖專案中央災害應變中心：今日搜救行動尋獲1名失聯民眾 [Hualien Matai’an Creek Barrier Lake Disaster: One Missing Person Found During Today’s Search Operation]. National Fire Agency, Ministry of the Interior. https://www.nfa.gov.tw/cht/index.php?article_id=19700&code=list&flag=detail&ids=1468

Central Weather Administration. (2024, August 6). 一年有多少颱風算正常？又有多少會影響臺灣？——淺談颱風氣候特徵 [How Many Typhoons Are Normal in a Year, and How Many Affect Taiwan?] https://climate.cwa.gov.tw/ClimatePedia/detail_page/14

Douglas, M. (1966). Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo. Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, Hualien Branch. (2025, August 15). 防範馬太鞍溪堰塞湖溢流 花蓮分署召開鳳林萬榮地方說明會 [Local Briefing on Preventing Overflow of the Matai’an Creek Barrier Lake]. https://hualien.forest.gov.tw/news/0076771

National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction (NCDR). (n.d.). 馬太鞍溪堰塞湖災害全紀錄 [Matai’an Creek Barrier Lake Disaster Record]. https://den.ncdr.nat.gov.tw/special/%E9%A6%AC%E5%A4%AA%E9%9E%8D/index.html

The Reporter. (2025, September 25). 馬太鞍溪堰塞湖溢流潰壩19死：從監測、防災宣導到撤離，如何記取教訓？ [Matai’an Creek Barrier Lake Overflow Leaves 19 Dead: Lessons from Monitoring, Disaster Communication, and Evacuation]. https://www.twreporter.org/a/mataian-creek-barrier-lake

Researcher

Hello everyone! My name is Shin-Hung Chen, and I am 22 years old. I live in New Taipei City, Taiwan, and I am currently studying at Fu Jen Catholic University, where I am double majoring in Religious Studies and Sociology.

I believe that the social sciences are essential to understanding human beings and the societies we live in. As I approach graduation, I am also considering whether to continue my studies at the master’s level and further explore the questions that interest me.

Outside of my studies, I am very passionate about films and novels. In my free time, I also enjoy writing short reflections and personal essays. I hope that through research, reading, and writing, I can continue to better understand people, society, and the different ways we experience the world.

I am very grateful for the opportunity to take part in YGRP and to share my work here. Perhaps we may have the chance to meet again in another place or through another project in the future.