At a meeting with survivors at Shuishan near Chiayi, President Ma said without the help of the service personnel, 858 more people would have been killed in floods and mudslides triggered by the tropical rainstorm.
He was accompanied by Gen. Chen Chao-min, minister of national defense. “Our MND put in 512,000 men/days for the rescue and evacuation operations,” President Ma said. As a result, 9,703 victims were evacuated to safety. “But for the help from the military,” Pres. Ma pointed out, “858 more would have perished.”