Six days after Typhoon Aere smashed into Taiwan and claimed at least thirteen lives -- with a total of 30 feared dead -- nationwide, over seven hundred people were still waiting to be rescued amid the wreckage of their villages in Hsinchu County's mountainous areas, as roads are still blocked by landslides, officials said yesterday.
"We cannot yet determine the exact number of people trapped in the mountains because the disaster area is wide and census data are not reliable. Yet the rescue efforts continue," said Cheng Niao-sheng, the director of the county's press bureau.
As rescue work entered its fifth day, over 1,000 people have been evacuated from the aboriginal villages in Wufeng and Chienshih Townships, which were hit the hardest by the fierce storm. More than 400 people were evacuated from Wufeng Township alone, and the rest should be evacuated today, officials said.
During an inspection visit to Chienshih Township yesterday afternoon, President Chen Shui-bian (
"The central government and local government are best partners. When the central government orders an evacuation, the local government should aid the enforcement," Chen was quoted as saying in a statement released by the Presidential Office.
"The residents' livelihood is our top priority. We expect less politicking in relief work, and more reconstruction efforts," Chen said.
* Number of people confirmed dead in Typhoon Aere: 13, with 17 more feared dead.
* Number of people believed to be trapped in areas cut off by landslides: over 700.
* Number of people evacuated by rescue workers in teh wake fo the storm: more than 1,000.
* Total number of residents in the two hardest-hit townships in Hsinchu County: more than 12,000.
Source: Taipei times
Chen also expressed his condolences to the bereaved who lost their families in the storm.
According to latest statistics from the Cabinet's National Disaster Prevention and Relief Center, 17 people are still missing and 285 were injured during the typhoon. Last Thursday, rescue workers had dug out six bodies from mud and rock in the Tuchang Village in Wufeng Township. However, according to residents who witnessed the landslide devouring twenty houses last Wednesday night, fifteen people were buried. The search for the missing is still under way, but the remaining eight victims were feared dead.
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