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Additional military personnel suit up for clean-up effort

Rescue workers search for Neihu residents who were buried by mudslides yesterday. The military has joined in rescue and restoration efforts in Nari's wake. PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES

The armed forces yesterday added an additional 8,600 soldiers to the 3,600 already dispatched to northern areas devastated by Typhoon Nari, the Ministry of Defense said.

Military officials said they were also seeking additional reinforcements from troops in southern Taiwan. The army has contributed the most to rescue and evacuation efforts, with the the navy, air force, and military police providing auxiliary assistance.

Seeking to get the nation's rail hub back into operation, the navy yesterday succeeded in draining most of the flood water from underground sections of the Taipei Railway Station, sources at the navy's general headquarters said.

The navy utilized some 200 personnel and over 100 water pumps to tackle the task.

"After all of the water is pumped out of the station, we will begin cleaning up the residual debris," said Commander Chien Yi-chun (簡益淳), a spokesman for navy general headquarters. The Taipei Railway Station also houses an MRT station. The MRT was also severely flooded by Typhoon Nari.

"[The army] didn't have much to do today. They can't start restoration work under rainy conditions."

Army official

"We were not as successful with restoring the MRT station. We will have to spend more time working on it," Chien said.

Chief of the General-Staff General Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明) yesterday morning inspected the restoration work at the Taipei Railway Station, accompanied by Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Li Chieh (李傑) and Armed Forces Reserve Commander-in-Chief General King En-ching (金恩慶).

After the inspection, General Tang ordered navy Chief Li to establish a command center at the Taipei Railway Station.

Rescue and restoration efforts elsewhere in northern Taiwan were hampered by a lack of "necessary equipment and other factors," said an army official, who declined to be identified. One of those factors, according to the source, was that the 6,000 troops sent to Taipei County's Hsichih township were waiting for the rain to stop.

"Most of the army soldiers deployed to Hsichih didn't have much to do today. There are two major reasons for this," the official said. "One is that the soldiers were waiting for the rain to stop. They can't start restoration work under rainy conditions."

"The second reason is that the soldiers are short of bulldozers and other necessary equipment. The soldiers cannot effectively clean the dirt and garbage left behind by the floods without proper machinery," he said.

The official said that while 37 bulldozers and other machinery commandeered from the private sector arrived yesterday in Hsichih, still more equipment is needed.

Despite its limited capabilities, the army has mobilized all its units in the north to deal with Nari-related rescue and clean-up. These units include the 49th division, the 351st armored brigade, the 269 motorized brigade, as well as 178th and 176th infantry brigades.
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