Naval vessels to be used in rescue work

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Taiwan officials are to use naval vessels to reach coastal areas after the powerful typhoon which swept across the island last weekend. About a hundred and forty people have been killed and hundreds remain missing.

Rescue and relief work is now underway. Floods and mudslides triggered by heavy rains from Morakot have isolated some villages in mountainous areas in southern Taiwan. Hsiao Lin village in Kaohsiung is one of the hardest hit areas. Nearly four hundred people are feared buried. Many roads and bridges were cut by landslides. Helicopters were used for delivering relief materials for the first few days. Local officials are now planning to dispatch naval vessels to help carry bigger rescue machinery and relief materials.