Residents camping on the site of a former military hospital in Tungshih, Taichung County welcomed a brief, powerful summer shower yesterday afternoon.
Mr Chan, whose home was destroyed in the 921 earthquake, sat with his young children, pushing away the rainwater accumulating on the canvas tent.
His family survived the quake that knocked out the first floor of their rented house.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Like other campers in Tungshih, he is hoping to move into a temporary house soon. At least it will keep the rain out, he said.
"We have applied for a housing unit right here," Chan said.
He ruled out renting another house, forgoing a government rent subsidy of NT$3,000 per head to families whose houses were ruined in the quake.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
He has decided to accept the alternative of temporary housing.
"No, no, I am not going to rent another house," Chan said.
"Many houses in Tungshih were ruined by the quake, leaving no houses for rent. And rents in Fengyuan have doubled to around NT$20,000 a unit." Nearby Fengyuan is Taichung County's most urbanized area.
Staying in Tungshih, he says, is the right thing for his family. His children -- both in primary school -- are a concern.
"I don't want them to be transferred to Fengyuan right now. The cost for them to adapt to a new environment would be even higher than the rent subsidy," Chan said.
In Tungshih township alone, more than 500 people were killed in the quake.
Yesterday morning, President Lee Teng-hui (
Soldiers sent to help those displaced in Tungshih have the task of setting up a few hundred units in half a month. Other temporary housing units are also under construction on state-owned land in the township.
The Buddhist Compassionate Relief Tzu Chi Association, had more than 300 units in Tungshih for displaced residents and was giving out information near a huge dome-shaped tent which houses some 400 people.
These units, ranging from nine ping to 12 ping (29 to 39 square meters), will be set up in the next two weeks.
Mrs Shih, who currently lives in a tent, was planning to apply for her family.
The house where her family lived and operated an egg wholesale business was also destroyed in the quake.
Asked what she would do next, she said, "There is no privacy here, and the children have no place to do their homework. We'll have to rebuild our home before we are in the mood to think about anything else."
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