Public and private donations from South Korea and Japan are pouring in following a quake that measured 7.2 on the Richter scale and magnitude 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale that struck Hualien County on Wednesday last week and was felt across Taiwan.
South Korea yesterday pledged a donation of US$500,000 in response to the largest earthquake to hit Taiwan since the 921 earthquake that stuck the nation in 1991, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The South Korean move came on the heels of Japan which announced on Friday last week that it would donate US$1 million to assist with relief efforts.
Photo: Hua Meng-ching, Taipei Times
The ministry yesterday expressed sincere gratitude for the donation of US$500,000 to assist reconstruction work in Hualien.
A day earlier, Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association President Tanizaki Yasuaki handed a list of donors that collectively pledged US$1 million to Taiwanese Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷),
At the ceremony, Yasuaki said that Taiwan’s government announced in January a donation of ￥60 million (US$391,792) to assist with reconstruction efforts in Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture after a magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck on Jan. 1.
Taiwanese donated more than ￥2.5 billion to help those affected by the quake in Japan, Yasuaki said, adding that it was very helpful and the people of Japan were very moved.
The relief aid that Japan provided to Taiwan would not only help those affected by the quake, but also deepen the bond between the two, he added.
Hsieh said his office has received phone calls and e-mails from the Japanese public expressing support for Taiwan which were deeply appreciated.
He said that the Taiwanese representative office is preparing to open a bank account in Tokyo to receive donations.
Meanwhile, a designated account established by the Ministry of Health and Welfare on April 4 for private donations to help with disaster relief work had received nearly NT$720 million (US$22.35 million) in donations as of 4pm yesterday, the Taiwan Foundation for Disaster Relief said.
The quake resulted in 16 deaths, with three people still missing, as well as 1,155 people with injuries, as of Wednesday at 6pm, the Central Emergency Operation Center said.
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.
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
Taiwan next year plans to launch its first nationwide census on elderly people living independently to identify the estimated 700,000 seniors to strengthen community-based healthcare and long-term care services, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) said yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said on the sidelines of a healthcare seminar that the nation’s rapidly aging population and declining birthrate have made the issue of elderly people living alone increasingly pressing. The survey, to be jointly conducted by the MOHW and the Ministry of the Interior, aims to establish baseline data and better allocate care resources, he
RSS