On Oct. 21, an opening ceremony to inaugurate the prefabricated classrooms of Longhua Elementary School in Nantou County’s Shenmu Village in Taiwan took place amid much fanfare. Destroyed by the raging floodwaters of Hoshe River during Typhoon Morakot in August, this was the third time the school had risen from the ashes following a natural disaster.

Of the village’s 399 registered households, 30 were forced to relocate and more than 100 live in dangerous conditions.

According to Duan Jin-hao, a professor with the Department of Soil and Water Conservation at Taichung-based National Chung Hsing University, the central Taiwanese village’s bad luck can be traced back to irresponsible logging practices that left the upper reaches of surrounding mountains almost completely denuded of camphor trees.

“Hoshe River was engorged with waters running off from the high mountain areas,” he said. “This situation was accentuated by long-term deforestation that has produced increased incidences of land subsidence.”

As the Longhua Elementary School’s opening ceremony drew to a close and students began rushing off to inspect their new, temporary classrooms, the assembled parents, teachers and government officials agreed on one thing. Only through the concerted efforts of all parties involved will the residents of Shenmu be able to enjoy a new life. 

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