The threat of further damage in the wake of yesterday's earthquake topped the list of the government's concerns as Premier Tang Fei (
"To minimize loss of life and property, we are calling for the immediate evacuation of areas threatened by mudflows and landslides," said COA Chairman Chen Hsi-huang (
Meanwhile, Tang said in an address, said that the NT$200 million the government had previously allotted for mudflow prevention measures would be available as soon as possible.
PHOTO: HUNG SHAO-CHIN, LIBERTY TIMES
Tang's statement was made in an effort to calm the frayed nerves of the residents of central Taiwan in the wake of yesterday morning's tremor, measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale. Central Taiwan residents are still suffering from the effects of the devastating 921 earthquake last year.
The NT$200 million was allotted in May to the Council of Agriculture (COA) to conduct a mudflow and landslide prevention project. The project was scheduled to be completed by June 22.
However, yesterday's tremor and a forecast of heavy rain have accelerated the project.
The Central Weather Bureau yesterday issued a three-day torrential rain forecast which prompted COA officials to establish a special team in a bid to provide solutions to possible mudflow threats in the mountain areas.
To determine whether ongoing mudslide defenses in disaster areas will be able to stand up to this week's expected heavy rain, central Taiwan-based COA officials investigated several threatened areas yesterday afternoon.
In Wukung borough (
"We are worried about the heavy rain because defensive construction has not been completed," said resident Li Ming-tung (
When Vice Premier Yu Shyi-kun inspected Wukung yesterday afternoon, officials from the COA's Soil and Water Conservation Bureau (
"If residents refuse to have their land requisitioned, it is very difficult for [the government] to conduct landslide and mudflow prevention work," said the bureau's director-general, Chen Chih-ching (
Wukung is one of 65 villages in central Taiwan listed as "at risk" from potential mudflows by the COA after the 921 earthquake.
However, evacuating people from these villages has become a challenge for the government. Residents have often refused the conditions offered by the government for requisition.
Yu demanded that Nantou County Commissioner Peng Pai-hsien (
"All dangerous villages have to be evacuated, but the government will provide residents with several alternatives for their relocation," Yu said, after inspecting Wukung.
Nantou County Commissioner Peng requested Vice Premier Yu provide a special military rescue team, which would be in charge of managing mudflow and landslide-related crisis professionally.
According to a COA survey completed following the 921 earthquake, about 8,620.6 hectares of collapsed land in central Taiwan have caused 370 creeks or rivers to become a danger to residents, especially during the rainy season.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
CLASH OF WORDS: While China’s foreign minister insisted the US play a constructive role with China, Rubio stressed Washington’s commitment to its allies in the region The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday affirmed and welcomed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio statements expressing the US’ “serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan” and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart. The ministry in a news release yesterday also said that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated many fallacies about Taiwan in the call. “We solemnly emphasize again that our country and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and it has been an objective fact for a long time, as well as
‘ARMED GROUP’: Two defendants used Chinese funds to form the ‘Republic of China Taiwan Military Government,’ posing a threat to national security, prosecutors said A retired lieutenant general has been charged after using funds from China to recruit military personnel for an “armed” group that would assist invading Chinese forces, prosecutors said yesterday. The retired officer, Kao An-kuo (高安國), was among six people indicted for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法), the High Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement. The group visited China multiple times, separately and together, from 2018 to last year, where they met Chinese military intelligence personnel for instructions and funding “to initiate and develop organizations for China,” prosecutors said. Their actions posed a “serious threat” to “national security and social stability,” the statement
NATURAL INTERRUPTION: As cables deteriorate, core wires snap in progression along the cable, which does not happen if they are hit by an anchor, an official said Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) immediately switched to a microwave backup system to maintain communications between Taiwan proper and Lienchiang County (Matsu) after two undersea cables malfunctioned due to natural deterioration, the Ministry of Digital Affairs told an emergency news conference yesterday morning. Two submarine cables connecting Taiwan proper and the outlying county — the No. 2 and No. 3 Taiwan-Matsu cables — were disconnected early yesterday morning and on Wednesday last week respectively, the nation’s largest telecom said. “After receiving the report that the No. 2 cable had failed, the ministry asked Chunghwa Telecom to immediately activate a microwave backup system, with
RSS