President Ma Ying-jeou says that disaster prevention efforts can help keep to a minimum the loss of life and property. His words on Sunday came by way of a message posted on his Facebook page.
In his message, the president spoke about the government’s response following the devastating Typhoon Morakot, which swept through Taiwan on August 8, 2009, killing more than 600 people.
Ma said that following that typhoon he immediately traveled to one of the hardest hit areas, Taimali township in the eastern county of Taitung. He assessed the damage and instructed his Cabinet on how to deal with the aftermath. The president said Taiwan’s government spent NT$560 million (more than US$17 million) on rebuilding efforts. He said they managed to clear away a massive amount of rocks and dirt, and repair roads, bridges and rail lines far ahead of schedule.
President Ma said that one of the keys to disaster prevention was offering disaster prevention training to 1,300 volunteers in areas at risk of landslides. He gave the example of one village chief in the mountains of Nantou County – Lin Mei-ling – who called all of the people in her village and even knocked on doors to urge them to evacuate. President Ma said her efforts had probably saved as many as 60 lives.
The president said that following Typhoon Morakot, he awarded other volunteers, whose combined efforts are thought to have saved about 1,000 lives.