Vice Premier Jiang Yi-huah today inspected progress on reconstruction of the Hezhong indigenous community in Hualien County, saying that while extreme weather has made it difficult to pinpoint locations to be hardest hit by typhoons, getting the public prepared goes a long way toward saving lives and property. Jiang said the government has held steady to President Ma Ying-jeou's guidance for handling disasters: "Prevention is more important than relief, and avoidance better than prevention."
The vice premier noted the government has accumulated considerable experience since Typhoon Morakot ravaged Taiwan in 2009. Major changes have been seen in the way agencies cooperate with each other and how operations are conducted. Ninety percent of residents displaced by Morakot were resettled within two years, and most reconstruction projects have been completed.
After Typhoon Saola struck Hezhong community this past August, the government promptly convened a meeting of the Cabinet and applied lessons from Morakot, Jiang said. Minister without Portfolio Chern Jenn-chuan, a specialist in post-disaster reconstruction, was assigned to coordinate operations across agencies, combine resources of central and regional governments and simplify administrative procedures.
The vice premier said plans for rebuilding Hezhong are comprehensive and experts do not believe residents will have to relocate. Reconstruction efforts will hence focus on river rehabilitation, embankment reinforcement and setting up multiple lines of defense—including sand bags, retaining walls, check dams, desilting basins, as well as protective walls around homes. Jiang asked the Council of Agriculture's (COA) Soil and Water Conservation Bureau and the Ministry of Economic Affairs' (MOEA) Water Resources Agency to dredge sewers and streams thoroughly to prevent flooding and implement more monitoring mechanisms.
After thanking the COA, MOEA, Ministry of the Interior and local governments for protecting the homeland, Vice Premier Jiang also expressed gratitude to World Vision, the Red Cross Society of the ROC, Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation, Dharma Drum Mountain and other civic groups for their assistance and support.