MORAKOT SITREP 8: TAIWAN SHIFTING FOCUS TO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 001013 AIDAC SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE ALSO FOR S/ES-O/CMS, EAP/TC, CA/OCS, BANGKOK FOR USAID/OFDA REGIONAL ADVISOR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON AEMR CASC PREL PGOV SENV XE TW SUBJECT: MORAKOT SITREP 8: TAIWAN SHIFTING FOCUS TO RECONSTRUCTION REF: TAIPEI 1011 AND PREVIOUS ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. The typhoon death toll stands at 141, with 440 individuals listed as missing. Services such as water, communications, and electricity have been restored to nearly 100 percent of affected households. The Central Emergency Operations Center is standing down, and will be replaced by the Post-Disaster Reconstruction Commission. USAID/OFDA Principal Regional Advisor Al Dwyer met with official on August 24 in Taipei and then traveled to affected areas in the south to assess and evaluate reconstruction efforts. Donations and aid have now come in from over 71 nations as Taiwan looks to fund a USD 3 billion reconstruction budget. END SUMMARY. -------------- Situation Stabilizing -------------- ¶2. (SBU) According to the Central Emergency Operations Center, typhoon-related deaths currently number 141, and 440 individuals are still reported missing. There are 50 shelters housing 5,957 displaced persons. Communications have been 98 percent restored, electric power has been 99 percent restored, water supply has been 98 percent restored, and water resource facilities (flood control dikes) have been 66 percent restored. 60 out of 149 damaged provincial still need repair, as do 36 out of 65 damaged county roads, and seven out of 17 damaged township roads. ¶3. (SBU) USAID/OFDA Principal Regional Advisor Al Dwyer met on August 20 in Taipei with representatives from the Taiwan Government Information Office, National Fire Agency (tasked with disaster rescue),Ministry of National Defense, Centers for Disease Control, Council of Agriculture, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss Typhoon Morakot rescue and relief operations. Taiwan representatives told Dwyer and AIT officials that Taiwan's Central Emergency Operations Center, which has been overseeing the response to Morakot, will stand down on August 21, and will be replaced by the Post-Disaster Reconstruction Commission (PDRC). Premier Liu Chao-shiuan serves as the PDRC Chairman, and we understand that a PDRC office will open in Kaohsiung on August 24. After meeting PDRC and AIT officials, Dwyer went to the south to continue assessing relief efforts. He is scheduled to depart Taiwan on August 25. ¶4. (SBU) PDRC officials tell us that Taiwan is moving into the reconstruction phase of post-disaster work. Rescue and relief efforts to date have involved 263,270 military personnel and 2,497 helicopter sorties. There are still 27 villages in affected areas that do not have road access to the outside, containing about 10,000 individuals who do not wish to evacuate. AIT has learned that PDRC officials are evaluating the safety of these individuals and the cost of relocating them as part of planning for possible evacuations in the face of future weather-related disasters. The authorities have dispatched over 500 academics, engineers, and NGO workers to the disaster zone over the past few days to survey and assess damage. Their findings will be used to draw up guidelines and standards for reconstruction. ¶5. (SBU) In order to raise funds necessary for the proposed USD 3 billion special reconstruction budget, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) plans to sell 40 percent of the state-owned Land Bank. MOF hopes to raise NTD 40 billion (roughly USD 1.2 billion) by pricing shares at NTD 40 in the initial public offering. -------------- Over 71 Nations Providing Aid -------------- ¶6. (SBU) 71 nations and the European Union, as well as 19 TAIPEI 00001013 002 OF 002 international NGOs, have provided aid and donations to typhoon-relief efforts. China's Taiwan Affairs Office reports that China has provided a total of USD 25.8 million in monetary donations and material donations worth USD 3.7 million. Separately, AIT's Community Outreach Group collected nearly USD2,500 and several boxes of relief goods, and colleagues in Guangzhou have raised more than USD 500 to add to our collective donation. WANG