Accumulation of coastal driftwood after a typhoon

In 2009, a typhoon named Morakot moved onto Taiwan and brought torrential rains that washed down huge amount of driftwood into the sea and accumulation at the coastal areas. By the analysis of satellite images, it is found that 83.2% coastlines of Taiwan were occupied by driftwood after Morakot. The amount of driftwood cleaned-up is 1.03 million tons containing 38.7×10⁴ (37.6%) tons were from coastal harbors, foreshores and backshores. The amount of driftwood left from Morakot is more than 100 times the estimate after historical typhoons and may be the world's great record. The Morakot-induced driftwood has harmed the tourism and fishing industries, endangered the navigation and oceanic activities, brought large impacts to the marine environment and ecosystem, and resulted in huge economic lost.