The daughter of a Taiwanese working in Haiti has been reported missing after the devastating earthquake that struck the Caribbean country on Tuesday, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) deputy spokesman James Chang (章計平) said yesterday.
The ministry earlier reported that the girl, the daughter of an engineer working at the Overseas Engineering Construction Company, had been killed, but later said that its office in Haiti was looking for the girl.
It said it was also checking reports that a Taiwanese backpacker may be among the missing after the deadly 7.0 magnitude temblor struck.
Taiwanese Ambassador to Haiti Hsu Mien-sheng (徐勉生), who sustained a bone fracture in his left leg, and Chi Wang-teh (齊王德), a consul at the embassy, who suffered injuries to his back and chest, have been transported to the Dominican Republic for treatment and may be moved to Miami if needed, said Domingo Ja (查岱明), a counselor at the Taiwanese embassy in the Dominican Republic.
The two men were trapped under the rubble for six hours after the Taiwanese embassy building collapsed during the temblor.
MOFA said a 23-member search-and-rescue team from Taiwan, accompanied by sniffer dogs, was expected to arrive in Santo Domingo early this morning. They will fly to Port-au-Prince immediately to meet other international relief workers and begin rescue efforts.
The team from Taiwan is bringing more than 3,000kg of equipment and goods, the ministry said, adding that another team of medical and relief workers is standing by and will be mobilized when needed.
One of Taiwan’s 23 allies, Haiti has more than 30 nationals living in Taiwan, mostly students.
Marcus Boereau, a Haitian student at Tamkang University, said although his mother and brother were spared in the earthquake, he couldn’t reach his older sister who worked at the UN building that collapsed.
Another Haitian student’s boyfriend died in the temblor, he said.
“This is not just a Haitian problem, but a human problem. We need to stand together to help the people,” he said.
Taiwan’s International Cooperation Development Fund (ICDF) has several technical and agricultural assistance missions in Haiti.
ICDF secretary-general Tao Wen-lung (陶文隆) said the agricultural mission stationed in the Dominican Republic was planning to send rice to Haiti to help combat food shortages.
Another shipment of 200 tonnes of rice by the Council of Agriculture is expected to arrive later this month, the council said.
Aside from donating US$200,000 on Wednesday, MOFA said yesterday that Taiwan was giving another US$300,000 to help quake victims.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LOA IOK-SIN AND SHIH HSIU-CHUAN
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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