Taipei, Oct. 8 (CNA) Power in Orchid Island, called Lanyu locally, in Taitung County is expected to be fully restored on Monday, Minister of the Interior Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said Sunday after Typhoon Koinu battered southern and eastern Taiwan.
Addressing damage to oil, water, electricity, and communication equipment on the typhoon-devastated island off Taiwan proper's southeast coast, Lin said in a press release that emergency repair equipment had been delivered to the island and that refueling services had been restored.
Regarding electricity, the state-run Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) was quoted in the statement as saying that 941 households are without power, with a full restoration expected by 11 p.m. on Monday.
In terms of telecommunication services, Chunghwa Telecom's transmission equipment has been repaired, and external transmission has returned to normal, Lin said.
However, part of the mobile phone base station in Lanyu remains unrecovered, the minister noted.
Lin said that a total of 107 households' landlines are expected to be fixed by Sunday, and 11 base stations are slated for repair, aiming for restoration before Tuesday.
Acknowledging the impact of typhoons causing large-scale power outages on the island, Lin said he would request that Taipower explore the viability of relocating Lanyu's cable network, considering both partial and complete underground options, after the recommendation is made to the Cabinet.
In addition, he said that 80 vessels in Lanyu's Kaiyuan Harbor have sunk, of which 46 have been pulled out of the water and 34 remain submerged.
A diving survey by the Army's underwater operations brigade identified five vessels at the bottom of the harbor, Lin said, adding that large cranes would be mobilized to refloat these sunken vessels.
Emergency repair equipment, heavy machinery for environmental cleanup and daily supplies had been delivered to the island in batches by cargo ships, according to the minister.
Lin also said that the clearing of the channel beside the red lighthouse at Taitung County's Fugang Fishing Harbor is underway, with around 10 ships still awaiting recovery.
This is a priority area for Sunday's recovery efforts, he added.
Additionally, the charity World Vision Taiwan provided three sets of water purification equipment for Orchid Island residents, the Taitung County government announced Sunday.
Taiwan's Central Weather Administration lifted both the land and sea warnings for Koinu on Friday.
