A flood response center would facilitate direct coordination between the central and local governments in Yunlin County, Chiayi and Tainan to address issues linked to areas affected by flooding on Monday, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday during a visit to Tainan.
Cho visited parts of the city that experienced flooding due to heavy rainfall triggered by a combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds.
The flooding had caused losses for some businesses in the areas, he said.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
To support the affected businesses, subsidies would be increased, he said.
Local governments provide NT$5,000 for businesses affected by flooding of 50cm or more, while the Ministry of Economic Affairs provides an additional NT$20,000, Cho said.
An additional NT$10,000 would be granted to registered businesses and vendors as further relief, he said.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Cho, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) and Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) visited Baihe (白河) and Houbi (後壁) districts to inspect drainage improvement efforts.
Later, they went to Houbi’s Houbo Borough (侯伯), where they visited an elderly resident living alone whose home was affected by the floodwaters.
Flood mitigation projects arranged by local authorities would be prioritized in next year’s multiyear flood control budget, Cho said.
Photo: Lin Yi-chang, Taipei Times
Citing forecasts that predict more weather instability over the coming week, Cho said that the Executive Yuan would establish a command center in the Yunlin-Chiayi-Tainan region to coordinate direct responses between the central and local governments.
President William Lai (賴清德) has also instructed the military to fully assist with disaster relief efforts, he said.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Environment and other agencies would operate under unified command from the center, Cho added.
The unstable weather that has affected Taiwan in the past few days continued yesterday due to the ongoing influence of southwesterly winds and the outer bands of Tropical Storm Co-May, the Central Weather Administration said.
Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that the unstable weather is expected to last until Aug. 4, with chances of scattered showers or thunderstorms.
Based on the latest European forecast model, a Pacific high-pressure system would intensify on Wednesday next week as southwesterly winds weaken, bringing hot and sunny weather to Taiwan, Wu said.
Tropical Storm Co-May, which was about 430km northeast of Taipei as of 8am yesterday and moving 22kph west-northwest, was headed toward China’s Zhejiang Province, he said.
The storm would have no further direct impact on Taiwan, he said.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
RSS