US servicemen walk beside a US Navy CH-53E Vanguard helicopter at the Tainan air force base in southern Taiwan yesterday. The helicopter will be used to airlift supplies to stranded survivors of Typhoon Morakot. AFP

TAIPEI: Taiwan officials began searching for explanations amid widespread criticism over disaster response as rescue efforts eased yesterday after one of the island's worst typhoons, which killed an estimated 500 people.

Although a military-led rescue effort involving 181,000 personnel has saved more than 8,200 people, the "defence ministry" will consider accepting blame, an official said yesterday.

Slow-moving Typhoon Morakot, Taiwan's worst in 50 years, triggered widespread landslides with record rainfall from August 7-9. It has tarnished the image of Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou, who is under fire for perceptions that he didn't respond fast enough.

"We will look at who's at fault and if there's any responsibility for us to take, we will take it," deputy defence chief Huang Yi-bing told a news conference. "We will conduct a review to see if we could have done better."

The Executive Yuan may also discuss a reshuffle later this week, a government news official said.

Ma's Kuomintang (KMT) may suffer in local elections in December, analysts say, although the worst-hit counties normally vote for the opposition anyway.

Authorities have also started seeking causes for the worst landslide, which buried the southern Taiwan village of Hsiao Lin, likely killing more than 300 as houses were flattened in what became a valley of mud and rocks dozens of meters deep.

Any relation between the slide and a tunnel dug near the village has been ruled out as a cause, said Chen Shen-hsien, director-general of Taiwan's Water Resources Agency.

It is unclear whether other construction or agricultural irregularities may have destabilized the steep mountainsides, contributing to the severity of the landslide, he said.

Angry relatives of the victims are demanding answers, local media said.

"If we don't find a good way to prevent these problems, then they will keep happening," Chen said at the news conference.

Reuters

(HK Edition 08/18/2009 page2)