Taiwan - Typhoon

Taiwanese President apologises for slow response

Article published on the 2009-08-15 Latest update 2009-08-27 14:12 TU

Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou visits victims of the Typhoon Morakot, 10 August 2009.
(Photo: AFP)

Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou bowed to public anger Saturday and apologised for his government's slow response to Typhoon Morakot.

The typhoon devastated central and southern parts of the island and early estimates of 100 dead now seem to be grossly understated.

"We could have done better and we could have been faster. But we weren't better and we weren't faster. Of course we are very sorry," Ma told reporters while inspecting relief efforts in Nantou county.

Ma spoke at the end of a week in which his administration faced mounting criticism,  for failing to recognise in time the magnitude of the crisis.

Mudslides cut off hundreds of villages, leaving them only accessible by air.

The official death toll rose to 123, but president Ma has warned that number could jump to 500, with hundreds feared buried beneath the rubble in the village of Hsiaolin alone.

The rescue operation nearly doubled in size over 24 hours with close to 100,000 troops battling Saturday to cross raging rivers and collapsed bridges to reach victims, the defence ministry said.