A maximum subsidy or loan of NT$500,000 (US$15,643) for the replacement of flood-damaged electric appliances would be granted to affected businesses and households in New Taipei City’s Wanli (萬里) and Jinshan (金山) districts to help the residents recover from Typhoon Krathon, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday.
Typhoon Krathon’s periphery brought extreme torrential rain to Wanli and Jinshan and caused devastating floods.
The floods that hit Wanli and Jinshan have been the most severe in the past 40 years, and overwhelmed the drainage system, Lai said as he inspected the areas with New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜).
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Lai expressed thanks to Hou and the New Taipei City Government for their prompt collaboration with borough wardens and the Ministry of Economic Affairs to restore life in the region to normal within two days.
Each local household or shop owner replacing damaged appliances with energy-conserving equipment would be subsidized with up to NT$500,000, he said.
The ministry would provide a six-month interest subsidy of up to NT$500,000 to shop owners who have goods damaged by the typhoon and want to get a loan to replenish merchandise, he said.
The Presidential Office later said the subsidy for electric appliance replacement would be sourced from the ministry’s subsidy program for energy-saving equipment and provided only for disaster-stricken shops and stores with taxation registration in shopping areas.
The subsidy would be granted on a reimbursement basis, funding 50 percent of the appliance price, up to NT$500,000, it added.
Previous efforts by the city government, the Executive Yuan and the ministry to elevate the embankments around Jinbaoli (金包里), Yuantan (員潭) and Cingshuei (清水), limited the negative impacts of the disaster, Lai said.
Systematic flood plans tailored to each river system in Wanli and Jinshan would be established via cross-ministry collaborations with other local governments and hydraulic engineering solutions would be utilized, he said.
A flood control budget of NT$55.1 billion has been drawn up by the central government for next year, he said.
Lai said he hopes the budget would receive bipartisan support and be reviewed by the legislature as soon as possible, so that local governments could use it to implement flood control plans and ensure the safety of people’s lives and properties.
Additional reporting by CNA
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