TAIPEI, Taiwan, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- The death toll directly attributed to Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan was 136 Wednesday, excluding the 523 villagers believed buried by mudslides, officials said.
Officials say another 45 people were injured and 386 people were missing, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Andrew Hsia offered to resign Tuesday following the government's criticized response to offers of assistance following Morakot, the Taipei Times reported. The ministry was put on the defensive last week when a message telling foreign missions to decline all forms of foreign aid except cash was leaked to media.
Hsia said the cable should have included the phrase "temporarily decline" regarding offers of humanitarian assistance and blamed the media for twisting the meaning of the document. He said the internal cable was meant to to tell Taiwanese representatives to encourage donations of money instead of goods when other countries and international groups offered help. The cable also was meant to note appreciation of the offers of help, the newspaper said.
More than 24,000 people were evacuated in Taiwan, with 6,000 people housed in emergency shelters.
Financial and humanitarian aid from the Chinese mainland and international organizations was being shipped to the island, Xinhua said. Officials said Morakot caused an estimated $39.3 million in agricultural damage.
Officials said Morakot was the worst typhoon to strike the island in nearly 50 years.
