Lawmakers bash failure to reinforce Aboriginal lands after 921 temblor

With the third anniversary of the 921 earthquake just around the corner, legislators representing Aborigines yesterday criticized the government for its failure to reinforce collapsed land in mountainous areas.

At a public hearing held by Aboriginal lawmaker May Chin (高金素梅) yesterday, aboriginal people from mountainous areas in Nantou and Taichung Counties asked the government to face up to the difficulties in reinforcing collapsed land.

On Sept. 21, 1999, a devastating earthquake, which registered 7.3 on the Richter scale, claimed more than 2,400 lives.

Aboriginal people said that they still can't escape from nightmares relating to earthquakes, mudslides and collapsed land.

At the meeting, Chin bashed the poor performance of the Executive Yuan's 921 Earthquake Reconstruction Committee, saying residents still suffer from the threat of mudslides during the rainy season.

According to Chin, by the end of March, there were 199 mudslides in Nantou County and 82 in Taichung County.

"I don't understand why people are still suffering from the threat of mudslides after the government spent a lot on water and soil conservation," Chin said.

Chen Li-jen (陳禮仁), an official from the committee, said no country could ensure that restoration work to geological changes caused by devastating earthquakes could be completed within five years.

Therefore, Chen said problems caused by mudflows and landslides triggered by torrential rains will remain unresolved for the time being.

But Chen said ongoing construction to reinforce collapsed land in mountainous areas would eventually minimize natural disasters.

Officials at the Soil and Water Conservation Bureau under the Council of Agriculture said while some projects had been carried out, it was unnecessary to restore all collapsed land because it would recover naturally.

In addition, officials said, the budget for the restoration of collapsed land is less than NT$2 billion annually.

According to the bureau, the 921 earthquake created more than 25,000 collapsed areas, covering 15,977 hectares of land. That has made people living in mountainous areas more vulnerable.

But a survey released in March shows the area of collapsed land resulting from the 921 earthquake has grown to 18,647 hectares.

"The expansion can be partly attributed to Typhoon Toraji last year," Wang Chin-lun (王晉倫), head of the bureau's monitoring and management section, told the Taipei Times yesterday.

Wang stressed that monitoring work is especially strict in places where people live.