It's been a month since Typhoon Gaemi slammed into Taiwan, causing 11 deaths and leaving hundreds of thousands without power. While life in the country's big cities has largely returned to normal, remote Indigenous communities are still struggling.
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00:00For the last few weeks, indigenous Lugai couple Ula and Naoda have been living here in what
00:12remains of what was meant to be their forever home.
00:15They poured their life savings into this house, which was damaged by a landslide when Typhoon
00:20Kemi hit this mountainous area in southern Taiwan just over a month ago.
00:26The couple have been waiting for government subsidies to rebuild, and have no plans of
00:30leaving the land that their people have been on for generations.
00:34Typhoon Kemi brought 200km per hour of winds and more than 2 metres of rain to southern
01:01Taiwan, causing widespread flooding and leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power.
01:07While the typhoon damage in the big cities has largely been cleared up, communities further
01:11away from the urban centres are struggling to return to normalcy.
01:16It's in rural mountain areas like this that many of Taiwan's population of 600,000 indigenous
01:21people live.
01:23Often relying on farming or manual labour to get by, they face higher unemployment rates
01:28and lower wages than the majority Han Chinese population.
01:32They're also further removed from basic services like health care and schools, and more vulnerable
01:36to natural calamities.
01:39After centuries of persecution and discrimination, Taiwan's indigenous communities now have their
01:44rights enshrined in the law.
01:46But many say they still feel the sting of inequality, particularly at times of crisis.
01:53Now, discrimination between the Taiwanese and the indigenous is now better, but not
02:00enough.
02:01For example, disaster rescue, after the disaster comes in, the government is always late or
02:12not very quick to provide relief or rescue help.
02:18Taiwan, an island nation prone to both earthquakes and typhoons, has been investing billions
02:23of US dollars to improve its disaster responses.
02:26But the government admits the remote indigenous communities can be left behind.
02:48For generations, these indigenous communities have lived off the land, and they've become
02:54attuned to Taiwan's challenging weather.
02:57They've developed their own survival techniques, like storing root vegetables and dried meat
03:01and fish, to sustain them through times of isolation.
03:05But they say climate change is making typhoon season more extreme and unpredictable, and
03:11that they need the government's help to face the evolving threats of natural disasters.
03:17Clive Wong and Rick Lowatt, for Taiwan Plus.