Factories of more than 100 Taiwanese manufacturers in Hai Phong, Vietnam, were damaged during Typhoon Yagi, which swept through the northern part of the country last weekend, the head of the local Taiwanese business group said on Thursday.
Almost all 150 members of the Hai Phong branch of the Council of Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce in Vietnam reported that the rooftops or gates of their factories were blown off during the typhoon, which made landfall on Saturday last week, said Hai Phong branch head Wang Kun-sheng (王坤生) said.
Fortunately, no injuries or deaths were reported by Taiwanese businesses, Wang added.
Photo: Hau Dinh, AP
Typhoon-linked fatalities in Vietnam rose to 199, and the country is still coping with the aftermath of floods and landslides, an Agence France-Presse report said on Thursday.
In Hai Phong, power was cut for 48 hours as the city was at the center of the typhoon, Wang said, adding that the suburbs still had no power, water supply, phone lines or Internet.
Wang said he had to drive one hour to Hai Phong just to make a phone call.
“It is the first time I feel I’m in a disaster zone,” he said.
In Do Son, southeast of Hai Phong, where many Taiwanese manufacturers have set up operations in an industrial park, power has returned, but a shoe company executive surnamed Kao said production has not resumed, because water leaks through the damaged roof whenever it rains.
Kao estimated his losses in terms of hardware at about US$300,000.
Wang’s factory outside the industrial park is still waiting for power to return, like most of the residential area in Do Son. Few shops were open, and multiple fallen trees, damaged traffic lights and blown-off shop signs were seen along main roads on Thursday.
Wang said the damages to his factory and equipment were about US$200,000, and that there is a shortage of workers and construction material, because everyone is still trying to rebuild.
Taiwanese businesses have reported the damage and issues they face to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vietnam, Wang said, adding that he would seek a tax deduction for typhoon-caused damage.
However, Taiwanese businesses are not looking for subsidies from the Vietnamese government, as local residents also faced heavy losses and damage, Wang added.
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