Love
in Action |
Relief Report on Typhoon Victims
in Formosa
(Originally in Chinese)
| As Formosa recently suffered severe damage from a series of typhoons and torrential rains, Supreme Master Ching Hai expressed concern about the disasters and informed centers around the island to conduct relief projects in the affected areas. The following is a report on these activities. |
Taipei
By the Supreme Master Ching Hai Relief Society
For several days toward the end of August 2004, Typhoon Aere battered Formosa, causing severe devastation in many areas. The northern part of the island suffered the heaviest damage, and people's lives and property were put at risk.
Early on the morning of September 4, the Supreme Master Ching Hai Relief Society (formerly the ROC Chinese Amphibious Rescue Association) received a telephone call from the Taipei County Fire Department requesting emergency rescue service. The torrential rainfall caused by Typhoon Aere was becoming increasingly heavy, and water in the Keelung River had reached an alarming level. In response, fellow initiates from the Relief Society used a jeep to transport a rubber dinghy to the Siufeng Brigade of the Sijhih Township Fire Department in Taipei County, where they remained on standby. As the heavy rain showed no signs of diminishing, the local Disaster Command Center became concerned that more areas would be affected. Then around noon, members of the Relief Society were transferred to the Taipei County Fire Department Disaster Relief Command Center to facilitate the disaster relief operation.
Later, the Relief Society received a request from the Taipei County Fire Department to provide rescue service in Sijhih's Hengke Borough. The team then rescued two victims who had been stranded by the flood and brought them to safety in the rubber dinghy. After accomplishing this mission, the team stayed to help with the restoration work in the affected area. It was not until the Social Affairs Department had mobilized enough jeeps from the public sector that the relief team departed without worry.
~~Letters of Appreication
