TAIPEI: One of the most pressing needs as Taiwan digs out from typhoon Morakot is the need for helicopters big enough to transport gravel trucks and excavators to places inundated by mud and debris. The heavy-duty choppers and the equipment they can carry would speed up the recovery process.

"What we need is a way of getting 32-ton gravel trucks and excavators into mountainous villages ravaged by floods and mudslides triggered by typhoon Morakot between August 7-9," said Huang Chi-min, director-general of the "National Fire Administration".

Huang made the remarks after the Executive Yuan directed all government agencies to come up with lists of items that they need foreign countries to donate or supply to facilitate rescue and rehabilitation efforts in the hardest-hit villages in the mountains of southern Taiwan.

The "Ministry of Transportation and Communications" (MOTC) was the first to come up with a report, saying that it urgently needs helicopters capable of handling extra-heavy payloads.

According to Huang, the largest chopper used by Taiwan's military is the CH-47, which can transport a maximum of 12 tons of cargo and has a maximum lift capacity of only about six tons.

As a result, Huang said, the MOTC was able to deliver only two light excavators to a mudslide-ruined village in the southern county of Kaohsiung the previous day.

Noting that the most efficient way to repair damaged mountain roads is to work simultaneously from both ends of the damaged sections, Huang said borrowing large helicopters to airlift heavy machinery into disaster zones is imperative to accelerate the reconstruction work.

However, a military flight instructor later pointed out that the maximum handling capacity of the biggest choppers in existence at the moment is only about 20-plus tons, adding that the US-built CH-54 and the Russian MI-26 can accept payloads of that size.

"We can deliver medium-sized machinery if there are no helicopters capable of carrying heavy-duty equipment," said an MOTC official.

Meanwhile, the Construction and Planning Agency came up with a report saying it hopes foreign countries can provide 1,000 prefabricated houses to help shelter displaced typhoon victims.

The Central Disaster Emergency Operation Center also said it welcomes foreign search-and-rescue teams willing to come to Taiwan to assist in locating people who remain unaccounted for after Morakot-triggered mudslides tore through several remote mountain villages in central, southern and eastern Taiwan.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 08/14/2009 page2)