The government from January to September launched 100 mountain search-and-rescue missions, twice as many as the same period last year, with the number of rescuers dispatched being almost three times as many, Ministry of the Interior (MOI) statistics showed on Saturday.
The National Airborne Service Corps in the first nine months of this year conducted 3,211 search-and-rescue missions, 81 down from last year, mainly due to a decrease in maritime rescue missions, the statistics showed.
While 100 missions were launched for search-and-rescue services in mountainous areas, the number of such missions was only 50 in the same period last year, with the number of rescuers dispatched increasing from 18 to 52, the data showed.
Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Taipei Times
The annual number of mountain accidents in Taiwan averaged 159 from 2002 to last year, it showed.
However, the number of mountain accidents from January to August totaled 295, the statistics showed, suggesting that many people travel to the mountains without sufficient preparation
The surge in search-and-rescue missions in mountainous areas was not just due to more people attempting to climb mountains, but also due to commercial mountain-climbing groups advertising services to less experienced climbers, for example offering support staff who carries people’s equipment, said a ministry official, who declined to be named.
These services are often booked by people with little mountain-climbing experience, increasing the risks of accidents, the official said.
A mountain photographer, known as Vision of a Snow Ram (雪羊視界), said that while the government has in the past few years increasingly promoted outdoor activities, a bigger focus should be put on minimizing the negative effects of mountain tourism.
The government should improve search-and-rescue efforts in mountainous areas, cap the number of visitors to some areas and regulate commercial mountain-climbing groups, the photographer said, adding that efforts should also be made to raise public awareness of the dangers of mountain climbing.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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