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Rescue workers work for disaster relief
near a ruined bridge on the road to Xinkai village in Kaohsiung of Taiwan,
Aug. 12, 2009. The village was hit by debris flow caused by typhoon
Morakot, which might result in serious casualties.(Xinhua Photo)
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TAIPEI, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan could reach more than 500, Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou said Friday.
"More than 120 people have already reportedly been killed by Morakot, in addition to 380 more deaths in Kaohsiung's Hsiaolin village. The total death toll in Taiwan could top 500," Ma said Friday.
According to the island's disaster-relief authorities, Morakot,the strongest typhoon to hit the island in half a century, had killed at least 117 people by 10 a.m. Friday.
Another 59 people were still missing and 45 were injured, they said.
Latest reports say about 380 people are feared dead
in a southern Taiwan village in the wake of the typhoon.
The 380 people are from Kaohsiung's Hsiaolin village
which was buried in mudslides on Aug. 9.
"Plus more than 120 confirmed deaths, the death toll
in Taiwan could top 500," Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou said Friday at an emergency
meeting.
Disaster-relief authorities said the death toll was
117 people at 10 a.m. Friday.
Another 59 people are missing and 45 were injured,
they said.
Property losses caused by the typhoon so far total 50
billion New Taiwan Dollars (about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars). More than 7,000
people have been left homeless.
Ma said Morakot was an even worse disaster than
floods that killed more than 600 people in 1959, Ma urged the whole island to
mobilize to contribute to disaster relief and reconstruction work in affected
areas.
The mainland-based Taiwan Work Office of the
Communist Party of China Central Committee, said the Chinese mainland will send
rescue and health care teams as well as relief supplies to the island.
The mainland has already donated several million yuan
to Taiwan for disaster relief.
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A helicopter prepares to take off to
rescue trapped residents in Kaohsiung county of south China's Taiwan
Province, Aug. 11, 2009. Helicopters rescued many residents trapped by
flood and mudslide caused by Typhoon Morakot on Tuesday morning as the
weather became clear. The death toll in Taiwan after typhoon Morakot
swept across the island surged to 103 as of 9 p.m. Wednesday after
rescuers found 32 bodies in southern Kaohsiung County, local media
reported. (Xinhua/Chen
Jianxing)
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