Volunteers have rushed to Hualien County’s Guangfu Township (光復) to help with disaster relief efforts after a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪), triggered by Super Typhoon Ragasa’s heavy rainfall, burst and flooded the town on Tuesday and wreaked havoc across the area.
Volunteers heavily laden with backpacks, rain gear, shovels and cookware yesterday poured out of every arriving train at Guangfu Railway Station, the station closest to the site of the disaster.
They came from all over Taiwan to serve in a variety of roles, from digging mud to distributing food and essential items to displaced residents, often using privately purchased equipment and supplies.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Railway Corp
Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) posted photos of some of those arriving volunteers on Friday and decided to schedule an additional 10 train services from yesterday to tomorrow to allow more people to contribute their time to the cleanup effort.
Praising the volunteers, TRC grouped them into different categories of “supermen,” with some considered to be “shovel supermen” and others seen as “cooking supermen,” and hailed them as guardians who have “united Taiwan with their warmth.”
Besides the additional services, TRC would also have more regular trains stop at Guangfu and open the trains to standing tickets to enable the volunteers to get to the stricken area.
Photo: Screen grab from a Facebook page titled “All things small and big about Taitung”
Volunteers are urged to use the train to come to Hualien instead of driving cars or motorbikes to save road space for vehicles bearing critical materiel and government responders, the Central Emergency Response Center’s forward operations coordination unit said yesterday.
They should report to the volunteer coordination station established yesterday at Guangfu Railway Station, it added.
A fourth-year college student surnamed Chung (鍾) from National Dong Hwa University said that they and three classmates on Friday traveled to Guangfu by train and found numerous shovel-ready volunteers on the way.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense via CNA
One of their classmates helped clear mud that trapped an elderly woman on the second floor of a building, they said.
“Shedding sweat as a volunteer made me feel very positive, because I am doing something to help victims of the disasters instead of being depressed,” they said.
A 60-year-old man from Taipei, carrying a heavy rucksack and digging mud with a spade, said he brought a sleeping bag for himself to avoid burdening the disaster relief effort.
“I just hope our friends in the disaster zone are safe,” he said.
A Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation spokesperson said the organization has deployed bulldozers, water trucks and water jet cutters to facilitate wreckage clearance in the township.
TV entertainer Belle Yu (于美人) yesterday said she had arranged for 112 high-pressure cleaners to be delivered by tomorrow in a gesture to encourage other celebrities to help the relief effort.
The floods killed 17 people and left seven missing.
Many people were also forced to evacuate their homes, and were being cared for in shelters. Piles of mud and debris are scattered over the landscape, requiring a massive support effort.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) wrote on Facebook that displaced people would receive up to NT$2,000 per day for a week to cover hotel expenses, which could be renewed for another week if needed.
People seeking accommodation in hotels can call the number 0975-275-130, and those seeking shelters should dial 1957 for information.
Additional reporting by CNA, Wang Chin-yi, Chung Li-hua
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