A landslide along the Suhua Highway in Eastern Taiwan has brought road transport between Hualien and Yilan to a halt. The incident happened in the early hours of Thursday. About 1,200 cubic meters of debris fell near the 159-kilometer mark of the road, blocking the entrance of a tunnel. With clearing expected to take about three days, the transport ministry will be running additional train and ferry services until the road reopens. Debris blocks the entrance of the tunnel. Smaller stones continue falling all around. This collapsed at the 159-kilometer mark of the Suhua Highway, where big rocks and other debris fell on a rock shed at the entrance of a tunnel. No vehicles were caught in the landslide and the police have closed off the road to traffic. Lin Yu-wang Hualien County Police Bure road as soon as possible. Traffic has been cut off in both directions between Renshui Tunnel and Chongde Control Station. Lee Shun-cheng Directorate General of Highways It’s all volcanic rock, which is why this disaster happened. The entirety of the Suhua Highway is probably in similar conditions. We will add a project to the Suhua Highway safety plan, to add a 9.5-kilometer tunnel, so that we can avoid incidents like this one. Truck driver The collapse happened about 30 minutes before I arrived. The police told me not to go in. So I’ve been waiting here. The area of the collapse stretches 25 meters and a width of 8.5 meters. In some areas the debris piles as high as 5 meters. All in all, it’s about 1,200 cubic meters of debris, which will take about three days to clear. The transport ministry has launched response measures. The Taiwan Railways Administration will operate six additional express train services between Hualien and Yilan on Thursday afternoon. Starting Friday, it will run 12 extra services daily. A Ho Fu Express ferry has been mobilized to ease congestion. Lee Shun-cheng Directorate General of Highways The Ho Fu Express will operate several services. It can carry about 440 passengers and 40 vehicles. Uni Air says it will evaluate demand for air transport before launching additional flights. If road transport is preferred, cars and small buses can take the Central Cross-Island Highway between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Show more