Cabinet Proposes Higher Budget for Hualien Flood Disaster
Following the deadly flooding of Guangfu Township in eastern Taiwan's Hualien County, the Cabinet is proposing a US$656 million increase in the post-disaster relief budget for compensations and subsidies for affected families.
Thousands of tons of mud and debris have been hauled away from Guangfu. The township in Hualien in eastern Taiwan was flooded after a barrier lake burst its banks upstream. According to an official survey, more than 88 percent of the cleanup operations are done, and 30 percent of the streets are cleared. The Environment ministry says they’ve prepared six temporary storage sites for the muddy waste, and these should be enough for now. About 45,000 tons of debris have already been cleared away, including both sludge and trash.
We estimate the total amount of garbage and mud will reach between 80,000 and 100,000 tons. We’re now moving on to the third temporary storage site and we may need a fourth, or even a fifth site.
To make recovery operations run smoother, the Cabinet is proposing a higher budget ceiling for a post-disaster recovery bill passed in late August. That bill was passed in response to lasting damage brought by storms and typhoons this summer.
They say a 656 million US-dollar budget increase is necessary for the flood disaster so the money wouldn’t conflict with the recovery needs of other storm-hit areas. If approved by the legislature, the increased budget would allocate over 82 million US dollars towards compensating affected families. Forty percent of which would be dedicated to those whose family members died, are missing, or severely injured, while the rest would go toward agriculture, healthcare and other subsidies.
Authorities say the budget would also help sustain flood prevention, as they continue to monitor the lake and maintain the highest alert.
The post-disaster recovery bill covers works related to the barrier lake. We only need to raise the budget limit to US$1.97B. With this amendment, we can then apply for a larger budget. I believe this will allow us to carry out stabilization work related to the lake.
On top of government funds, there has also been a generous influx of private donations. As of Wednesday, we’ve received more than 230,000 donations totaling US$25.7M. We are grateful for everyone’s help.
Next week, we will coordinate with the Cabinet on its one-stop service to simplify and expedite service distribution.
The Cabinet says all the funds would go into an official one-stop service platform, where Guangfu locals could apply for subsidies and some missing government documents as the work of rebuilding continues.
Hank Hsu and Irene Lin for TaiwanPlus.
