Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
Under this order, Taipei City, Taipei County, Keelung City and Ilan County will receive their due allotments for the final quarter of this fiscal year in a lump sum, instead of getting the funding on a monthly basis as they usually do.
Taipei City and Taipei County will each receive NT$650 million, and Keelung City and Ilan County will receive NT$450 million.
A similar measure was also taken immediately after Typhoon Toraji in July to deal with the urgent financial needs of Nantou, Hualien, Taichung, Miaoli, Chiayi and Yunlin counties.
Yesterday's order was issued during an inter-ministerial meeting hosted by Chang to discuss the government's measures on disaster reconstruction.
Also during the meeting, Chang instructed the Ministry of Finance and the central bank to offer tax deductions and preferential loans for victims.
Chang demanded that authorities speed up rescue efforts and promptly restore public facilities damaged by Tyhoon Nari, so that the lives of those affected can return to normal as soon as possible.
He instructed the Ministry of the Interior to assist local governments in searching for people missing in the disaster, rescue people who are still stranded in disaster zones and make proper arrangements to relocate the victims.
Chang also asked Taipower to restore electricity supplies to some 650,000 households that still remained without power yesterday.
He also demanded that the Taipei Water Department and Taiwan Water Supply Corporation restore services to some 670,000 households that have no water supply.
In light of the fact that a large number of buildings still have flooded underground levels, Chang ordered the formation of a special task force to deal with the problem. This task force would be responsible for collecting all available pumping equipment from government agencies and borrowing pumping facilities from the private sector to help pump out floodwater.
Meanwhile, the Council of Agriculture and the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Water Conservancy Agency were ordered to conduct closer monitoring against landslides in central Taiwan. This area has been prone to landslides since it was struck by the 921 earthquake two years ago.
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