Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation

Volunteers of the Tzu Chi Foundation provided nearly 1,500 hot meals as well as folding beds, blankets and clothing to people in southern Taiwan hit by flash floods.

The floods were caused by a tropical depression; they affected many areas in the south of the island. On the morning of August 24, the volunteers in the office of the foundation in Chiayi County set up an emergency response center. One of the affected areas was Meinan Village in Sikou Township. Its drainage system could not cope with the heavy volume of water. There was serious flooding and transport was blocked.

Yang Fa-shan, head of the village, asked Sikou Township to provide 200 lunch-boxes for the residents. The township asked the volunteers to help. As the situation deteriorated, they received similar requests from other places. To meet this demand, the Chiayi office and the foundation’s Dalin Hospital prepared nearly 1,500 meals for those affected.

But the volunteers could not deliver the meals because the roads were covered by the flood waters. So they asked the military for help in taking the food, in addition to other items. The military delivered the meals to the townships of Budai, Singang, Sikou and Dongshih. The volunteers also sent 21 multi-purpose folding beds as well as clothing and blankets to the community activity center of Taibao City.

The Foundation said that it would continue to monitor the needs of those affected by the floods and provide what was required.