One reason for Yang's consideration to create the memorial park is that most of the residents do not want more excavation of tens of thousands of tons of mud to locate the approximately 200 people buried and presumed dead.

They do not want heavy construction equipment crushing the bodies of their loved ones, Yang said. People wish to keep the bodies of the dead intact.

“The best we can do,” Yang added, “is to let them lie buried in peace forever.” Yang said one of the residents, with all of his 12 relatives considered buried in the mudslides, appealed in person to Premier Liu Chao-shiuan for making the village a public park to commemorate the victims of the mudslide.

Liu Kun-lai, the sole survivor of the family, wants a cenotaph erected in the center of the ruined village so that the people may ever remember those who lost their lives in the tragic mudslides.

“Of course,” the magistrate said, “we will listen to the opinions of the residents of Siaolin.”

But nobody is sure exactly how many people remain buried.

Yang, who estimated the toll at 300 Thursday, said about 200 remain buried. “But,” he added, “we have to continue keeping count.”

It is likely that the death toll may rise, but so far no bodies have been recovered.

President Ma Ying-jeou, in addressing his first National Security Council meeting, said the buried topped 380. But the national disaster control center in Taipei said that number wasn't confirmed as of noon yesterday.

According to the township government of Chiahsien, the number should be 350. Chiahsien has jurisdiction over the village of Siaolin.

That number is just an estimate, one Chiahsien official said.

At first, Siaolin was reported to have a population of 1,500. Only 150 of them have been evacuated safely. The disaster control center said 200 others were unaccounted for.

It is unclear whether some 1,000 residents, including possibly those returning to the village for Father's Day celebrations, are missing.

Meanwhile, many of the 362 residents of nearby a Namasia village evacuated to Chishan vowed to return home in the not-too-distant future.

They were airlifted from the waterlogged village by helicopter to be sheltered temporarily at a vacant junior high school.

None of them want resettlement away from Namasia.

As they boarded the choppers, they said, “We shall return.”

The helicopters also evacuated 349 residents from Paolai, 169 from Taoyuan and 100 from Liukwei yesterday afternoon.

Many of them left their destroyed homes in tears. They lamented quite a number of residents still remained marooned in hidden pockets of their villages.