The Hualien District Prosecutors’ Office is investigating local authorities on possible negligent homicide and dereliction of duty charges after some residents said they never received evacuation notices ahead of a devastating flood last month.
A barrier lake on the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) overflowed on Sept. 23 amid Super Typhoon Ragasa, flooding Hualien County’s Guangfu Township (光復).
The disaster left 19 people dead and 157 injured, with five people still missing and 717 rescued, data released on Tuesday showed.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA
Prosecutors yesterday said they obtained records from central government agencies, the Hualien County Government and local township offices, and would continue to request documents as needed.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) had said that all typhoon evacuation procedures are the responsibility of local government offices.
While prosecutors said they would consider all relevant information, they emphasized that the investigation is still ongoing.
One report said that when investigators attempted to review documents at the Guangfu Township Office, the office claimed the records washed away in the flood.
Hualien County Research and Administration Department Director Chen Chien-tsun (陳建村) yesterday said that many agencies are investigating the flood, and the county government has consistently cooperated by providing documents when asked, including interagency notifications and response measures.
Everything is being handled properly, Chen added.
Meanwhile, a tropical disturbance near Guam is forecast to possibly become a tropical depression and further strengthen into Typhoon Fengshen, the Central Forward Coordination Post set up in Guangfu after the flood for coordinating recovery operations said yesterday.
It said it would be transitioned into an emergency response coordination center to help the county government and townships prepare for potential impacts from the storm, including evacuation planning.
Additional reporting by CNA
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