Taiwan approves $878 million for quake relief

This photo taken by Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) on April 3, 2024, shows a barricade erected around debris in the compound of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei after a major earthquake hit Taiwan’s east. A major 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit Taiwan’s east on the morning of April 3, prompting tsunami warnings for the self-ruled island as well as parts of southern Japan and the Philippines. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

TAIPEI — Taiwan’s government on Thursday approved around $878 million for earthquake relief after a massive quake last month killed at least 17 people and damaged buildings and infrastructure.

The magnitude 7.4 quake that hit the island on April 3 also injured more than 1,100 people, but strict building codes and widespread disaster readiness is credited with averting an even bigger catastrophe.

The quake caused massive landslides that blocked tunnels and damaged roads and buildings, dealing a blow to tourism and business in eastern Hualien city, near the epicenter.

READ: Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in 25 years kills nine; 50 missing

The cabinet announced Thursday it will make “utmost efforts” to rebuild homes and revitalise business, with an NT$28.55 billion ($878 million) “0403 Earthquake Recovery and Reconstruction Plan.”

Under the project, NT$18.44 billion will be earmarked for emergency repair and reconstruction of public facilities, while NT$5.84 billion is for resettlement and reconstruction of private homes damaged by the quake.

Another NT$4.08 billion will finance industrial revitalization, while NT$190 million will go to “other insurance subsidies and employment assistance programs”, the cabinet said.

READ: Taiwan hit by numerous quakes, strongest reaching 6.3 magnitude

“In the future, the central and local governments will work together… to ensure that the people receive the fastest, most adequate, and most timely help,” the cabinet said in a statement.

The quake came weeks before Taiwan’s incoming president Lai Ching-te takes office on May 20 after winning the January presidential elections.

It was the most serious quake in Taiwan since one of magnitude 7.6 in 1999.

Some 2,400 people died in that quake, making it the deadliest natural disaster in the island’s history.