Hundreds unaccounted for in Kaohsiung village: survivors
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The fate of several hundred people in a mountainous village of Jiasian Township in southern Kaohsiung County remained unknown as of last night and rescued survivors fear the villagers could have been buried by mudslides triggered by Typhoon Morakot, according to local media reports.
Only 44 of the more than 1,300 registered residents in Siaolin Village managed to avoid the mudslides.
The reports said earlier over 600 residents were still unaccounted for, quoting a female family member of residents believed to be trapped in the village and possible buried alive.
A 46-year-old man surnamed Wong said yesterday 10 of his family as well as their house disappeared under the mudslides.
Wong told cable TV news channel TVBS that he was able to escape the disaster because he was out making the rounds of his farms.
Another rescued villager surnamed Lin told the United Evening News that he also believed as many as 600 people were still buried by the mud.
The mudslide was triggered in the early morning and covered a large part of the village, including a primary school and many homes, he said.
It was like a part of the mountain just fell on the village, covering all of the buildings, he said.
But he did not explain the apparent discrepancy between estimate of deaths of survivors and the policeman's smaller estimate of people still missing.
A police officer said about 100 people have been rescued by military helicopters or had avoided Sunday morning's mudslide in the village.
Members of a military rescue team said late yesterday they found more than 100 survivors, including adults and children, gathering at farming huts on a plateau on the mountain.
Helicopter pilots said rescue missions will start today to lift them to safety.
A total of 1,313 people have their household registration in the village, but only a fraction of them live there year round.A separate survivor said many people had returned recently to the village because of the bamboo shoots harvest season and family reunions for the local Father's Day on Aug. 8.
The village was cut off from the outside world after flood waters destroyed a bridge about 12 kilometers away.
The survivors urged the government to seize every valuable moment to launch a rescue operation to help the trapped villagers.
Earlier in the day, two army helicopters managed to airlift 26 villagers from Siaolin and two more from neighboring Tajin Village to safety.
Army authorities originally planned to airlift all 44 of the Siaolin villagers who managed to flee from their mudslide-stricken homes, but rescue efforts were suspended after four sorties due to bad weather and low visibility.
The poor weather conditions also forced the National Airborne Service Corps (NASC) to cancel its plan to deliver relief supplies to two other mudslide-damaged mountain villages -- Namasia and Taoyuan.
The staggering amount of rainfall delivered by Morakot over the weekend led to massive flooding and landslides that wreaked havoc in Kaohsiung County's mountainous villages, cutting them off from the outside world.
Kaohsiung County Magistrate Yang Chiu-hsing personally took an NASC flight in the morning to check the situations in the isolated villages. But the helicopter could not make a landing when flying to Siaolin because of poor weather.
Some rescued villagers criticized Yang for failing to take timely precautionary measures and delaying in organizing relief efforts.
Yang said all-out rescue efforts could only begin after swelling water in major rivers recedes as all bridges and roads linking the mountainous villages with the outside have been severely damaged.
Interior Minister Liao Liou-yi visited Kaoshiung County's Chishan Junior High School, which was turned into a post-disaster operation base.
Some local officials complained that the central government was slow in responding to the region's worst flooding in half a century.
Liao said that he has asked the armed forces to enter the disaster zones to rescue stranded villagers as soon as weather conditions permit.
Looks like the RoC's version of the 2008 Sichuan quake.
Turns out that a five way cross over between It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the Ali G Show, Fargo, Idiocracy and Veep is a lot less funny when you're actually living in it.
Taiwanese President Ma Ying-Jeou today held a press conference to address his response to Typhoon Morakot and the general public’s disapproval. In addition to the president, Vice President Vincent Siew, Secretary General Chan Chun-po, Deputy Secretary General Kao Lang, Deputy Ministry of the Interior Lai Feng-wei and Head of the Natural Disaster Prevention and Protection Commission Paul Chiu attended.
Ma began the conference with a prepared statement in which took full responsibility for the government’s response to the disaster and apologized. He and the other officials bowed to express their regret. He then opened the press conference to questions.
When asked if he had demonstrated strong leadership, there was a long pause, after which he said he had, but “not necessarily in the face of the media. I worked by the system, not individually,” he said.
Ma said that he had asked the legislature to allot NT$70,000 billion to relief efforts. He also said that the government planned to give NT$20,000 to those whose homes were flooded by more than 50cm of water. He did not address support for those flooded with less water, nor for those whose homes were completely washed away.
He did say that under the newly introduced Homeland Planning Act, the country would be divided into regions. Some areas would be designated as unsuitable for human habitation. He also said that aboriginal people who have been living in those areas for hundreds for years would have to be “educated.”
In response to questions about comments he made saying that the armed forces’ priority would now be disaster prevention and rescue, he said that the army’s “job is still to defend Taiwan. Now our enemy is not those across the Taiwan Strait but nature.”
When asked what role politics played in accepting foreign assistance, Ma denied ever refusing foreign aid. He said that it was the action of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and not in keeping with national policy. He added that he did not know about the message refusing aid and that the resignation of Deputy Foreign Minister Andrew Hsia would be approved by the premier.
The death toll of the disaster is currently at 127, however over 300 are still missing and the number is expected to rise.
Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou apologized again today for the slow response to Typhoon Morakot and said he plans sweeping changes to the country's rescue agencies and may punish some government officials.
Taiwan President Ma ying-jeou speaking at a press conference in Taipei.
Taiwan President Ma ying-jeou speaking at a press conference in Taipei.
"We will try our best to do a better job in the rescue work that has been criticized for being too slow," said Ma.
"There are things that we have to correct and we also will be responsible for whatever mistakes or neglect that government officials have made."
Morakot hit the island August 8, dropping 102 inches of rain. The storm killed at least 123 people in Taiwan before it roared on to mainland China the next day.
But more than 300 people could be dead as rescuers have struggled to locate many who were missing in remote mountainous areas of southern Taiwan.
Ma said he will evaluate the rescue process and may punish some government officials by early September.
Ma apologized last week for the rescue effort as he traveled around the typhoon-battered island. He said heavy rain grounded rescue helicopters in the first few days after the storm hit, delaying relief efforts.
He said Tuesday that he will make changes to Taiwan's fire departments and army to emphasize rescue and recovery training.
