13 schools in Pingtung cancel class on Friday to clear out debris from Typhoon Koinu

13 schools in Pingtung cancel class on Friday to clear out debris from Typhoon Koinu

2023-10-06

Typhoon Koinu left a trail of destruction in Southern Taiwan, especially on the Hengchun Peninsula. Many schools were left with broken windows and damaged facilities. The typhoon may have left, but 13 schools in Pingtung country remained closed on Friday, as personnel were dispatched to clear out debris and make repairs.

Surveillance camera footage shows a tree swaying in the wind. Behind it, sports nets lie on their sides on the ground. Typhoon Koinu brought wind speeds of more than 61.2 meters per second to Hengchun Peninsula. One day after the storm, classes have resumed in the county, except at 13 schools that sustained heavy damage. One of them is Daping Elementary School in Hengchun Township. The school grounds are covered in broken trees and branches and the shipping container that serves as sports equipment storage was blown on its side.

Huang Wen-tsung
Daping Elementary School principal
I was shocked. Since I came here, none of the typhoons managed to knock it over. It’s such a heavy container, but it ended up like this. It was uprooted and all.

Rain continued to batter Hengchun in the morning and teams were dispatched to help clear out the sports field. Some teachers also came to the school to clean up the classrooms and collect debris.

Daping Elementary School teacher
I’m sweeping the floor and collected some fallen leaves. I might go outside in a moment to help clear out the leaves there.

Another school in disarray is Manzhou Junior High School in Manzhou Township. The activity center at the school, which is meant to double as an emergency shelter, has been left without many pieces of roofing. Rain now pours freely into the building, creating a waterfall at the stairway.

Lee Wei-tsung
Manzhou Junior High School
The glass windows and the aluminum doors have been blown off. The water has kept leaking in from the roof and it’s all pouring down.

The school remains without electricity and in the morning, a group of soldiers was dispatched to clear out debris. School administrators hope the school will be cleaned over the long weekend so that students can come back for class next week.

Lee Wei-tsung
Manzhou Junior High School
We’ve had soldiers come to help out. So I think that over the long weekend, everything will get put back in place. The repairs here may take a little longer.

Typhoon Koinu left a trail of destruction in the Hengchun peninsula, which will take some time to clear up.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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颱風"小犬"重創校園! 屏東13國中小週五停課

2023-10-06

颱風小犬襲台，為恆春半島帶來17級陣風，不少學校教室門窗玻璃毀損、球場設備也壞了、就連電力也還沒恢復，總共有13所國中小學，因為校園災情慘重，今天依舊停課，國軍也派員協助學校整頓環境。

監視器畫面看到，一旁樹木，被強風吹得搖搖晃晃，球場一整排的網架，也被吹翻倒地。

颱風小犬過境，為恆春半島帶來17級強風，屏東縣雖然沒放颱風假，但有13所國中小，因為災損情況嚴重，6號宣布停課，其中位在恆春鎮的大平國小，校園裡，就有多棵樹木被攔腰折斷，滿目瘡痍，就連球具室的貨櫃，也不敵強風，整個被吹翻。

[[大平國小校長黃文聰]]
“非常訝異啊，因為我來這邊，沒有一次颱風是會把這個吹翻的啦，這麼重的貨櫃屋都可以這樣，等於是連根拔起”

恆春上午持續大雨，除了室外操場，也有老師趕到學校，忙著清理教室和滿地落葉。

[[大平國小老師]]
“我現在在拖地，然後我剛剛掃過落葉，然後可能等一下要去校外，幫忙把落葉撿起來”

情況慘重的還有這裡，滿州鄉滿州國中的活動中心，原本臨時做為災民安置所，沒想到屋頂卻被吹掀一大片，雨水噴入，樓梯淹成小河。

[[滿州國中總務主任李緯宗]]
“窗戶玻璃，然後整個鋁門窗被打飛掉，然後頂樓洩水不及，整個灌進來”

目前學校尚未復電，國軍一早先進駐校園，協助清理環境，希望能在國慶連假期間完成清理作業，讓學生安心上課。

[[滿州國中總務主任李緯宗]]
“因為我們有國軍弟兄在幫忙，所以應該是這個連假之內，應該可以把它整理好，那維修的部分可能就要比較久的時間”

小犬颱風肆虐恆春半島，造成多所學校毀損，災後復原恐怕還要一段時間。

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Two helicopters from the National Airborne Service Corps flew back and forth from Orchid Island transporting disaster relief workers from Taipower, CPC Corporation, Chunghwa Telecom and the Taiwan Water Corporation.

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Yao Ching-ling
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Currently the place where freighters and passenger ships dock at Kaiyuan Port is full of sunken ships. There’s absolutely no way of docking there. We have to first clear the loading dock so that people and goods can come in. We need the central government to help provide cranes and excavators.

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Our current goal is to help Orchid Island return to daily life, that is, with water, electricity, transportation, telecommunications and fuel. Once these things are done, we can use machinery to clear out the docking area, so that we can make further arrangements on shipments.

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Voice of Yen Tzu-yu
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Right now, we have to get the road cleared. The plants and big trees have all been bent and broken. We’re going to need a lot of people or heavy machinery to hoist them up.

The military is expected to be getting involved in disaster relief starting Saturday so that reconstruction can be speedier and the islanders can return to normal life.

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DPP’s Lai says upcoming elections will affect peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific

With the presidential election drawing closer, there has been increasing international media attention to Taiwan. Most recently, DPP presidential candidate Lai Ching-te was interviewed exclusively by the Japanese public broadcaster NHK. Lai said he hoped Taiwan and Japan could strengthen their security cooperation and called on the international community to unite in deterring China and preventing a contingency in Taiwan. The vice president also made it clear that he does not accept the claim that Taiwan is part of China.

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Lai Ching-te
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Lai Ching-te
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Lai Ching-te
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A company in this urban business park on the outskirts of Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, appears to have a connection to a deadly disaster.

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Thirty-one people were killed in December, after the earth swept over their tents overnight at a campsite on Father’s Organic Farm.

Nine and a half months later, the government has not released findings from its investigation.

Loh Teng Shui
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The families want accountability. And also, we want steps to be taken to prevent these incidents from happening again.

Also killed in the landslide was seven-year-old Zech, the only child of Loh Teng Shui and his wife, Tan Ei Ein.

Loh Teng Shui
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The families deserve the full, comprehensive, unfiltered report, which covers all aspects, not just the technicality of the landslide.

Land records reviewed by VOA show that at the time of the landslide, the farm and campsite were on property owned by Malaysia Botanical Gardens Resort. The company lists its offices in this tower in Horizon office park, the same building that’s the headquarters for Nirvana Asia Group a funeral service provider that’s controlled by one of the country’s wealthiest families.

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Records kept by the Companies Commission of Malaysia lists both Kongs as directors at Malaysia Botanical Gardens Resort. The Kongs turned down VOA’s request for an interview.

VOA also recently reviewed an environmental impact assessment, or EIA, report but was not allowed to photograph or record video of it. The report shows that in 2013,the department of environment approved a proposal for a resort, but the site where Father’s Organic Farm was operating later was in a different area.

Teckwyn Lim is an honorary associate professor of geography at the University of Nottingham Malaysia.

Teckwyn Lim
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How did the farm get the permit to operate?

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Dave Grunebaum, VOA News Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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Lin Yu-ting
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I felt that I’d finally made it. When I came off the ring I went to hug my coach. I made it. I really made it!

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