Minister of the Interior Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源) yesterday promised that infrastructure in the public sector would be back to normal within a week on Lanyu (蘭嶼) after he paid a visit to the island after it was devastated by Typhoon Tembin on Tuesday.
Packing winds of up to 245kph, Tembin wreaked havoc on the island.
“The major highway has been blocked by rocks, the only gas station on the island has been destroyed, a supermarket has collapsed and many other buildings on the island were damaged to varying degrees, but most of the serious devastation was concentrated in Yeyou (椰油) and two other neighboring villages,” Lee told a press conference last evening shortly after returning to Taipei.
Photo courtesy of the Civil Aeronautics Administration
Lee said he would meet with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to discuss a post-disaster recovery plan, adding: “I will come up with the initial plan and make a presentation to Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) tomorrow [today] at the Cabinet meeting.”
Lee added he is confident that infrastructure in the public sector would be operating normally within a week, but it may take longer for the private sector to resume normal operations.
“There’s enough food and other materials; what’s needed most is cash,” the minister of the interior said. “The ministry will open an account to take in donations. We will announce it to the public as soon as we have one.”
Separately yesterday, the Atomic Energy Council assured the public that a facility on Lanyu that stores the nation’s low-radioactive nuclear waste remained intact after the storm. Only a garage door and a door to one of the buildings in a restricted area were damaged, the council said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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