National Taiwan Normal University yesterday issued a press release saying that a group of five people, two of its students and three alumni, who were scheduled to descend Dabajian Mountain (大霸尖山) yesterday, remained missing.
Two policemen were trapped on a power line pole for more than three hours when they tried to rescue residents of Taitung’s Taiho Village (太和), who were reportedly stuck in their houses because of flooding, the Central Disaster Emergency Operation Center said.
Before the approach of Typhoon Morakot, at least four counties had begun rationing water. But as of yesterday morning, Shihmen Reservoir in Taoyuan County, which was almost half empty last week, had to open its floodgates as Morakot had filled it up in just one day.
The Council of Agriculture (COA) said that at 3pm yesterday, the nation had sustained NT$832 million (US$25.4 million) in losses in crops, animal stocks, fish, forestry and agricultural equipment.
The highest loss came from crops, with bananas particularly hard-hit, the COA said, as more than 11,145 hectares of farmland had been hit by the typhoon.
Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Hualien counties met guidelines for the Agricultural Natural Disaster Relief Regulations (農業天然災害救助辦法), the COA said, adding that farmers in the county were eligible for cash relief funds and low-interest mortgages.
The Ministry of Finance (MOF) said yesterday that tax payers could claim deductions for property damaged by Typhoon Morakot once they had proper documentation.
Property owners are eligible to file their tax deduction applications with local tax offices within 30 days and must attach detailed reports of the damage and legal verification of ownership, the MOF said.
Once the applications have been approved by tax officials, who are required to conduct on-site inspections, property holders and business owners can list their damaged commodities or products for tax deductions when they file their income or business tax returns next year, it said.
A wide range of personal property such as private cars, scooters, houses and land damaged by Morakot are included on the list of tax deductible items, MOF officials said. Deduction rates vary, they said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHIH HSIU-CHUAN
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