Although Typhoon Xangsane (
As of press time, over 38,000 households were without power, about 380 roadside trees had been blown down, and 1,990 city residents living in low-lying areas had been evacuated to safer ground.
Service of the MRT Tamsui line was halted early yesterday morning but resumed within an hour.
To view the situation first-hand, Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
In Laochuan borough (老泉里), Wenshan District, Ma and other city officials boarded an inflatable motorboat to rescue an elderly couple from their pig farm and transported them to a temporary shelter at the nearby Wanfang Elementary School (萬芳國小).
According to the wife, surnamed Chen, the water started to rise at around 6am and reached chest-high within three hours.
"It rose so fast that my husband and I simply did not know what to do," she said.
Ma then proceeded to Nankang to visit 12 people who were taking temporary shelter at the Nankang Elementary School (南港國小).
One, Chen Wen-liang (
"It just doesn't make sense to have parents work but leave their children at home," he said.
Chen's remarks were echoed by New Party lawmaker Feng Ting-kuo (
When another city resident staying at the Wanfang Elementary School shelter, surnamed Liu, questioned the timing of the city's announcement, Chu admitted that the city should have made the announcement at 11pm, Tuesday.
The city announced at 3am yesterday morning that all classes would be canceled for elementary and junior high school, regular schedules were declared for senior high schools and civil servants.
Ma, however, defended the city's stance by saying that the decision was made according to the standards set out by the central government.
"We didn't do anything wrong. We were just playing by the rules," he said.
Ma, however, promised to make a request with the central government to consider setting consistent standards.
According to the personnel administration's guidelines, winds must gust up to force 10 on the Beaufort scale (classed as a storm or whole gale) and average level 6 for classes to be canceled. The wind must reach force 11 (classed as a violent storm) and average level 7 for work to be discontinued.
Realizing the seriousness of the situation following his inspection, Ma announced that civil servants could ask for emergency leave if their homes were flooded or if they were single parents, and said he hoped the private sector would follow suit.
Another Nankang woman, who refused to be identified, asked Ma to expedite the allocation of relief funds.
"I've lost my home and all of my belongings. I desperately need money to get my home and my life back," she said.
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