The Greater Kaohsiung District Court yesterday ruled against the appeal for NT$590 million (US$19.5 million) in damages by family members of residents killed in the Siaolin Village (小林) disaster, when the area was struck by Typhoon Morakot five years ago.
Villagers who were in the courtroom said they would appeal the ruling.
The landslide triggered by Morakot covered Siaolin Village in Greater Kaohsiung, killing 462 residents. Family members of people who were killed said they were dissatisfied with the city government for what they said was a lack of effort to prevent disasters.
Photo: Huang Chih-yuan, Taipei Times
Morakot struck on Aug. 7, 2009, causing catastrophic damage in parts of southern Taiwan, leaving more than 600 dead. It caused nearly NT$200 billion in total damages across the nation, nearly 1.6 percent of the nation’s GDP for that year.
The residents and family members of the deceased initially asked for NT$2.4 billion, but after being rebuffed by the Greater Kaohsiung Government fire department and district offices in Namasiya District (那瑪夏), Taoyuan District (桃源) and Jiasian District (甲仙), 175 members filed a suit with the district court asking for NT$590 million in damages.
The Siaolin Village Rebuilding and Development Association said in 2011 the primary functions of the association were to investigate why Morakot had wiped out the village and assist the families of people killed in the disaster to apply for state compensation.
Residents have asked that the local government and a local township office pay compensation for a “flawed rescue effort” during the typhoon.
The villagers protested the ruling and said their primary concern was not monetary compensation, but justice.
“We will be appealing the ruling,” the villagers said outside the court yesterday.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it