The government is considering the mass relocation of residents from areas seriously affected by Typhoon Toraji, it was announced yesterday.
Such areas are prone to future mudslides and relocation might be necessary to prevent more loss of life.
Nearly 80 people are known to have died and more than 130 are still missing from the deadliest typhoon to hit Taiwan in four decades.
Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
"To ensure Taiwan is safe from the danger of mudslides, [the task force] should carefully evaluate the proposal's viability," government spokesman Su Tzen-ping (蘇正平) quoted Chang as saying at a news conference after the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday morning.
Su said that the task force would be headed by Chen Po-chih (陳博志), chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development, who at yesterday's meeting, strongly proposed a mass relocation in Nantou and Hualien counties be carried out as soon as possible.
An official at the soil and water conservation bureau (
"Most of the 65 villages are located in Nantou, Taichung and Miaoli Counties," Lin said.
Lin, however, said difficulties would arise in implementing a mass relocation, adding that most residents in these areas had been reluctant to leave their homes even in the wake of the 921 earthquake two years ago.
He said that it would take two to three years to complete preparatory procedures, such as agrarian surveys and household registrations, before the actual relocation could be set in motion.
Lin also said that a shortage of government funding for both land acquisition and the relocations themselves was also a major concern.
As a result of financial shortages and the extended time-scale necessary to implement relocation, Chen said yesterday that "in the near future, evacuation will still be the [government's] only option to keep residents safe from the danger of mudslides." Chen said that the special task force would be up and running within a week.
An engineer of soil and water conservation, Debbie Weng (鄭麗瓊), said the government must start immediately constructing barriers and defenses against mudslides in high-risk areas.
President Chen Shui-bian (
Chang yesterday proposed that all central government employees donate a day's pay to relief funds for typhoon victims. This was unanimously endorsed later on. Total donation from central government employees could amount to more than NT$400 million.
Chang also instructed the government to immediately distribute emergency relief funds to victims.
Families of the dead and missing will receive NT$200,000 in compensation from the central government, while those who were seriously injured will get NT$100,000. Households whose homes were severely damaged during the typhoon, are entitled to compensation of NT$20,000 per head, up to a maximum of NT$100,000 per household.
Three special donation accounts have been set up to raise relief funds from the private sector.
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