After the Central Weather Bureau issued a sea warning for Typhoon Sinlaku, the Cabinet's Council of Disaster Prevention (災害防救委員會) yesterday launched measures to minimize damages from the storm.
To minimize risks posed by Sinlaku, the council stopped issuing hiking permits.
The measures include requiring all hikers to leave the mountains immediately and requiring fishing boats to move into declared safe areas.
As of last night, 800 citizens were leaving the mountains, according to the council. The council has been trying to contact 94 citizens in Hualien, Ilan and Nantou.
According to the Disaster Prevention and Rescue Law (
There are 1,390 areas in Taiwan that could be declared dangerous.
Citizens who reject the warnings and hike in the mountains or go out to sea risk a fine of between NT$50,000 and NT$250,000 and may be required to pay compensation if they had to be rescued, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) announced in July.
The fire administration, which is in charge of rescue operations, said that the 894 people who entered areas now declared dangerous before the warning was issued won't be fined or required to pay compensation unless they refuse to follow the order leave those areas.
According to the ministry's orders, if people enter dangerous areas and have to be rescued, they would have to pay the am-ount that the government spent on the rescue.
People could be forced to pay overtime costs, insurance fees, transportation costs for officials and rescuers dealing with the incident and any expenses associated with operating rescue vehicles and helicopters.
Minister of the Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲), who is also the council's deputy director, yesterday appealed to the public to avoid heading into any dangerous areas.
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