Number of Casualties-Missing Increase to 120

Number of Casualties-Missing Increase to 120. September. 14, 2003 22:51. by Jong-Hoon Lee taylor55@donga.com.

The number of casualties caused by typhoon Maemi has increased to 120 as of 4p.m. Sep. 14.

Six more bodies were found at Haewoon Plaza building in Masan, South Gyeongsang Province, where 2 bodies were already found at night of Sep. 13. Also 4 bodies were found at some nearby commercial buildings, making the total number of people killed 86, and the total number of people missing 34.

The amount of damages suffered are estimated to be 200 billion won for Busan, Daegu 30.6billion, South Jeonra Province 17billion, and North Jeonra Province 9 billion won for the time being. Yet the amount is expected soar markedly if South Gyeongsang Province and Kangwon region, the two most severely struck regions, are added to the calculation. Flood warnings for 3 areas along the Nakdong River are still valid.

Out of 1.47 million households who suffered blackouts due to the typhoon, electricity supply resumed for 1.36 million households, and among the rest of the households, for 60,000 houses in Goeje, South Gyeongsang Province, the supply will resume on Sep. 16.

The train schedule is still disrupted in the Youngdong line that goes from Youngju∼Gangneung, and in the Jungsun line that runs from Jungsun∼Najun. Around 1 month is expected to take to repair the Youngdong line, and the Jungsun line is expected to resume the normal service by Sep. 20.

Meanwhile, on Sep. 14, each local government authorities started to restore public facilities, houses and farmland damaged by the typhoon, with helps from the army.

Related to the rescue work, the government decided to provide the local governments with Special Grant as an emergency fund together with 100billion won of Reserve Fund. Also the government decided to first use 1.4trillion won, which is the remainder from this year`s Reserve Fund, for the rescue work and to form supplementary budgets if it is not enough.

The Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs (MOGAHA) announced that it would start research on the actual conditions of each local government until Sep. 20, as it decided to review awarding the regions struck by the typhoon the Special Disaster Zone if certain criteria are met.

The MOGAHA also instructed each local government to grant tax exemption, rollover, tax cut and grace period on a Local Tax for the typhoon victims. .

Thus, acquisition tax and registration tax will be exempted for those repairing or newly purchasing buildings, cars, or machineries destroyed by the typhoon, and for those farmhouses who had lost their farmlands, agricultural income tax will be exempted.