Nearly 2,000 volunteers are helping dredge and fortify flood-hit areas in Hualien County’s Guangfu Township (光復) today, with 15km of roadside ditches expected to be cleared by later this evening, Central Emergency Operation Center chief coordinator Chi Lien-cheng (季連成) said.
Taiwan Railway Corp data show that 12,000 people had exited Guangfu Station as of this morning, with 1,800 volunteers distributing 65,000 sandbags to households to prevent further flooding, Chi told a news conference.
Military personnel are now focusing on silt removal on Fozu Road and near Baoan Temple (保安寺), and would assist households as needed, he said.
Photo courtesy of a reader via CNA
Cleanup in areas less severely impacted by flooding is expected to be completed over the three-day Double Ten National Day holiday, he said, adding that the focus would then shift to clearing ditches along the hard-hit Fozu Street.
Of the 30km of ditches to be cleared, half is expected to be completed by today, he said.
Also starting today, insurance would be provided for operators of heavy machinery helping in the cleanup effort, Chi said.
Units would provide a QR code for volunteers to scan and input their basic information for three days of coverage, he said.
As the number of total volunteers is large and difficult to ascertain, Chi said that the government is still investigating the feasibility of extending insurance to all volunteers.
Asked about access to relief resources for unregistered structures, Chi said that as long as they are within the disaster zone and inhabited, they qualify for assistance.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
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