The government plans to allocate NT$100 billion (US$3.36 billion) to complete flood control projects in southern Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said yesterday.
Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) told reporters about the plan after a meeting at the Central Emergency Operations Center in Taipei.
Kuo said that he traveled with Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) to southern Taiwan on Tuesday to inspect the disaster region caused by the southwest monsoon, which brought torrential rainfall since Monday.
Photo: Screen grab from Tainan City Councilor Wang Hsuan-mao’s Facebook page
The premier has asked government departments to quickly respond to the needs of the people affected by disasters and help them return to normal life, Kuo said.
Although Taiwan Water Corp is set to begin replacing water pipelines in the disaster areas, Cho asked the state-run utility firm not to suspend water supply, as many residents are still cleaning their homes, Kuo said.
The government has set up a command center for the disaster areas in Tainan, and Chiayi and Yunlin counties to coordinate with restoration efforts, Kuo said.
The command center has representatives from the MOEA, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Environment and other agencies, and can facilitate communication between the government and residents, Kuo added.
The Executive Yuan has approved the Water Resources Agency’s budget to spend NT$100 billion completing flood control projects in southern Taiwan, Kuo said.
“Facilities met the standards of flood prevention of the time they were built, but rainfall we are seeing now has exceeded the capacity of these facilities,” Kuo said. “We need to face challenges brought by extreme weather and solve problems quickly.”
Water Resources Agency Deputy Director-General Wang Yi-feng (王藝峰) said that the flood-control budget that was allocated through the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program has helped reduce flooded areas and speed up water recession this time.
However, due to excessive rainfall, floods were still reported in certain areas, Wang said.
“Disasters this time have demonstrated areas that need reinforcement in the next phase of the flood control projects. We would promptly review these areas and explore solutions. Hopefully, it would further alleviate flooding in these areas,” Wang said.
Since Monday, several locations in Kaohsiung, Tainan, Chiayi County and Pingtung County have recorded more than 500mm of rain, according to Central Weather Administration data.
Additional reporting by CNA
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