INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Morakot Sitrep 8: Taiwan Shifting Focus To

Published: Thu 20 Aug 2009 08:04 AM
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DE RUEHIN #1013/01 2320804
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 200804Z AUG 09
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2159
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK PRIORITY 4687
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 0166
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
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RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
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.
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Situation Stabilizing
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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.
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Over 71 Nations Providing Aid
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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
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