Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Taiwan leader says more than 500 dead in typhoon
Fri Aug 14, 2009 2:20am EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
CISHAN, Taiwan (Reuters) - Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, under pressure over his government's response to the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot, on Friday estimated that more than 500 people had died in flooding and mudslides.
Survivors and opposition parties say efforts to rescue people stranded in towns and villages have been sluggish. Some villagers were seen shouting at Ma as he toured devastated areas this week.
Ma gave his estimate of the death toll, a jump from previous figures of just over 100, at a national security meeting, a presidential aide said. Officials said about 300 may have died in a mudslide that leveled most of Hsiao Lin village in the south.
Increased pressure on Ma, who has improved ties with Beijing since taking power more than a year ago, could drain support for his Nationalist Party (KMT) in local elections in December.
"As one of the victims said the other day, 'I voted for you, but now I can't even reach you'," said Lin Chong-pin, strategic studies professor at Tamkang University in Taipei. "So there's a big drop in satisfaction with his performance."
Some are also calling for Ma to reshuffle his cabinet and may think long-term that he "doesn't care," said Hsu Yung-ming, a political science professor at Soochow University in Taipei.
CREWS OPEN ROAD TO STRICKEN AREA
After days of dispatching helicopters to rescue survivors and distribute food in Hsiao Lin, authorities opened a road into the stricken district on Thursday.
But it was now unlikely that anyone trapped since Monday in the landslide had survived.
"The county magistrate gave the premier a report that in his judgment about 300 were dead," a Government Information Office section chief said.
"These are the conditions now. Specific numbers will depend on the army opening the road and sending people in."
Morakot has caused about T$30 billion ($910 million) in losses to agriculture and infrastructure and reconstruction is expected to cost about T$120 billion. The government spent about the same amount after a 1999 earthquake that killed 2,400 people.
The typhoon has knocked out 34 bridges and severed 253 segments of road in Taiwan, with repairs expected to take up to three years in the worst spots, the transportation ministry said.
In Cishan, a storm-ravaged town of 41,000, both road bridges had collapsed, smashing houses and taking down cars. Residents jammed a footbridge which remained standing.
Army crews used earth movers to clear mud from roads as hundreds of people cleaned homes or storefronts, heaving out water-logged possessions.
"My store has been closed for days because I figured no one could get to it," said Chen Chih-lu, who owns a furniture shop in Cishan. "My guess is 90 percent of us are digging out of the mud." Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Fidel Castro turns 83 with economy on his mind
Video
Rise of the Taliban
At this crucial time in the U.S.-led war against the Taliban, GlobalPost reporters recap the current political and counterinsurgency efforts in Afghanistan. Video
Life, death and blowback
Video: Schooled by the Taliban
Full Coverage: Afghanistan and Pakistan
More International News
Karzai rival tells huge crowd Afghan race not over
| Video
Fidel Castro turns 83 with economy on his mind
Iran candidate says prisoners tortured to death
| Video
N.Korea says door always open to U.S. for talks
Merkel and Medvedev to discuss investment
More International News...
Video
Taiwan air rescue
Play Video
Taiwan mudslide rescue finds 700
More Video...
Featured Broker sponsored link
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Blackstone's Schwarzman tops U.S. CEO payroll: study
Air controller with link to crash in NY suspended
Fox News' "Glenn Beck" loses advertisers
U.S. tests system to break foreign Web censorship
U.S. economy still shaky; France, Germany show life | Video
Mystery deepens over disappearing merchant ship
Nude drunk loses way in hotel
Chinese learn credit card perils the hard way
Auto inventories tight, U.S. "clunker" interest slips
As U.S. health row rages, many seek care in Mexico
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Health care hurting Obama
Browsing rather than shopping
Gates: Afghan security mixed
Under fire in Iraq
Paris pool bans muslim Burkini
Blaze rages in northern California
Outrage over reported bomber release
French woman held in Iran spy trial
Taiwan air rescue
Town halls gone wild
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Your View
Where were you when the Wall came down?
Did you live under the communist regime of East Germany? Sneak across the border to escape to West Berlin? Celebrate the fall of the wall in 1989? Send us your images. Blog
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Journalism Handbook |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.