Taiwan typhoon victims 'seek $68 mln' compensation

Victims of a deadly typhoon that devastated Taiwan nearly two years ago are seeking $68 million in compensation from the authorities for their "flawed rescue," according to a report. About 309 residents of Hsiaolin village in southern Kaohsiung city demanded the city government and a local township office pay $52 million for late rescue during Typhoon Morakot in August 2009, said the state Central News Agency. Another group of 35 villagers filed a separate petition against the forestry bureau and the water resources agency, seeking $16 million in compensation, the report said. The residents argued that the authorities failed to efficiently monitor mudslides and evacuate the village in time, which resulted in massive deaths and financial losses, it said. The Kaohsiung city government will submit a report on its rescue efforts to the state compensation review board which will rule on the cases, it added. Morakot, the worst storm to hit Taiwan in half a century, left more than 600 dead, including 400 people from the village that was buried by mudslides triggered by torrential rains. The disaster had plunged President Ma Ying-jeou into his worst political crisis since taking office in May 2008, amid widespread public criticism that his government's response was late and inefficient.