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TAIPEI: Dozens of residents of south Taiwan who disobeyed government orders to evacuate as Typhoon Parma lingered in nearby seas could face fines of thousands of dollars, an official said on Tuesday.
When authorities called on township dwellers in rural parts of Pingtung county over the weekend to leave their homes, several families refused, despite fears that they might be in the typhoon's path, the official said.
Instead, they signed agreements vowing to take responsibility for their own safety, and stayed until the typhoon land warning was called off late Monday.
There may now be a legal aftermath, as each of them could end up paying as much as 200,000 Taiwan dollars (6,200 US dollars) for ignoring government orders, officials said.
"They have to evacuate when ordered to. They could face a fine," said an official with the National Fire Agency, one of the government bodies in charge of safety precautions during typhoons.
Taiwan had evacuated more than 6,000 villagers by Monday as Typhoon Parma lingered in seas near the island, bringing heavy rains and causing landslides, a rescue official said.
The evacuations, some of them forced, were concentrated in south Taiwan, which saw the heaviest losses from Typhoon Morakot in August, which left more than 600 people dead.
Although the weather bureau has lifted its land warning for Parma, the typhoon was still expected to generate downpours in various parts of the island on Tuesday.
- AFP/so
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