Morakot hit Taiwan calls for int’l assistance

Rescue and rehabilitation efforts in Taiwan are being stepped up to save the life of stranded people following floods and landslides unleashed by Typhoon Morakot last weekend that took death toll of nearly 500 people. The country, however, needs international assistance to effectively continue its rescue and rehabilitation efforts.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Taiwan has released a detailed list of items that Taiwan needs in terms of international assistance, including specialized helicopters and pilots capable of transporting very heavy payloads, 1,000 prefabricated houses to provide temporary refuge for homeless flood victims.

The MOFA press release also stated that the country badly needs 100,000 bottles of phenolic disinfectant or Benzyl-p-chloropherno, 200,000 Aquatab water purification tablets, 100,000 liters of sterilizing agent for sanitation, 1,000 portable sterilizers and 500 automatic sterilizers.

"On behalf of the government and people of the Republic of China, we would like to express our most sincere appreciation for all the support and concern expressed by the countries and international organizations," the MOFA said in the press release.

Earlier President Ma Ying-jeou called the damage caused by typhoon as the most severe to the island in more than 50 years. He said that floods and landslides unleashed by Typhoon Morakot from August 7-9 had killed about 500 people, and destroyed the homes of 7,000 people.