The Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) activated its natural disaster relief program yesterday to provide unemployed Typhoon Fanapi victims with temporary work opportunities as a way to tide them over.
The council has budgeted NT$60 million (US$1.9 million) for the relief program, which targets people whose homes were damaged or whose fields were flooded by the typhoon on Sunday, said Hsu Chin-lung (許金龍), chief of the employment division of the Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training.
There will be 1,000 three-month temporary jobs available for people eligible for the relief, Hsu said, adding that the jobs will pay NT$800 per day, five days a week, 22 days a month.
The temporary jobs include cleaning streets and communities in the aftermath of typhoons and floods, the official said.
Fanapi swept through Taiwan on Sunday, packing strong winds and torrential rains that caused massive flooding in parts of southern Taiwan, as well as in Hualien and Taitung on the east coast.
The typhoon caused several billion NT dollars in damage and losses to both the agricultural and industrial sectors.
Those who have lost family members or who suffered serious injuries from the typhoon would also eligible for the relief program, the council said.
A similar relief program was implemented last year to help victims of Typhoon Morakot, which triggered massive flooding and landslides in southern Taiwan in August, killing more than 600 people.
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