Cabinet to allocate more than NT$20 billion for Hualien
The Cabinet is to allocate more than NT$20 billion (US$615.16 million) to support relief efforts in Hualien County following an earthquake on April 3 that measured 7.2 on the Richter scale.
The estimate was confirmed on Thursday at a meeting led by Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) and attended by officials of the Public Construction Commission, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and other agencies, the Cabinet said in a statement.
It said that 125 lodging operators have agreed to work with the interior and transportation ministries to provide accommodation for those affected by the earthquake on a short-term rental basis.
Businesses and individuals affected by the quake would receive monthly rental subsidies from the government ranging from NT$8,000 per month for a household of three to a maximum of NT$18,000 per month for a household of eight, Cheng said.
In addition, any household that wants to buy a new house or rebuild would receive interest subsidies on loans of up to NT$3.5 million and those that want to make repairs would receive interest subsidies on loans of up to NT$1.5 million, the statement said.
The subsidies would come from the Central Public Housing Fund, it said.
Cheng asked the health ministry’s Taiwan Foundation for Disaster Relief to increase grants for family members of people who died or are missing to NT$1 million from NT$800,000.
The Hualien County Government suggested that the central government roll out a Hualienspecific agricultural voucher or digital wallet program to boost spending there, but details are still being discussed, the statement said.