Power in Orchid Island (蘭嶼, Lanyu) is expected to be fully restored today, Minister of the Interior Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said yesterday after Typhoon Koinu battered southern and eastern Taiwan.
Emergency repair equipment had been delivered to the island and refueling services had been restored, Lin said in a press release addressing damage to oil, water, electricity and communication equipment on the typhoon-devastated island.
A total of 941 households are without power, with a full restoration expected by 11pm today, state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) was quoted in the statement as saying.
Photo courtesy of the military via CNA
Chunghwa Telecom’s transmission equipment has been repaired and external transmission has returned to normal, Lin said.
However, the mobile phone base station in Lanyu remains partially damaged, he said.
One-hundred-and-seven households’ landlines were expected to be fixed by yesterday, and 11 base stations are slated for repair, aiming for restoration before tomorrow, Lin said.
Typhoons caused large-scale power outages on the island, Lin said, adding that he would request Taipower to explore the viability of relocating Lanyu’s cable network, considering both partial and complete underground options.
Eighty vessels in Lanyu’s Kaiyuan Harbor (開元漁港) have sunk, of which 46 have been pulled out of the water and 34 remain submerged, he said.
Divers of the military’s underwater operations brigade identified five vessels at the bottom of the harbor, Lin said, adding that large cranes would be mobilized to refloat the sunken vessels.
Emergency repair equipment, heavy machinery for environmental cleanup and daily supplies had been delivered to the island in batches by cargo ships, the minister said.
The clearing of the channel beside the red lighthouse at Taitung County’s Fugang Harbor (富岡漁港) is under way, with about 10 ships still awaiting recovery, Lin said.
Additionally, the World Vision Taiwan charity provided three sets of water purification equipment for Orchid Island residents, the Taitung County Government said yesterday.
The Central Weather Administration lifted both the land and sea warnings for Koinu on Friday.
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