My personal experience of the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot as a documentary director

Our team spent 6 months of our time between the end of 2011 till mid 2012 filming a documentary series, “REBUILD” on natural disasters around Asia Pacific and the rebuilding processes.

I personally filmed across 4 countries – Fukushima and Ishinomaki in Japan, Christchurch in New Zealand, Seenigama in Sri Lanka, and Gaoxiong in Taiwan.

I found the Typhoon Morakot as the most severe disaster of all I had witnessed based on the wreckages the disaster left behind.

What made the devastation of the Typhoon Morakot a more severe one than the Japan and Sri Lanka’s tsunami even though their death tolls were much higher, was the fact that when the mudslide that brought along gigantic stones slamming into villages and homes, the severity of the disaster was unthinkable.

When we filmed in Namaxia, the aboriginal village, we saw houses that have been abandoned for 3 years, and big stones were still left stuck in their living rooms or kitchen spaces. We could not imagine how the villagers felt when the disaster actually happened. It must be the most frightening day of their lives.

What made the whole experience of filming the rebuilding of Taiwan inspiring was first and foremost, the permanent homes that the government and Charity Organisations like Tzu Chi and World Vision built for the survivors were of top notch quality and condition.

So far, this is the first country we saw where the survivors were so well taken care of.

Secondly, it was the worst affected community, the Aboriginals in Taiwan, that showed us that their culture and survival were truly inspiring.

Namaxia Village, despite its inaccessibility after the disaster, remains the most beautiful part of Taiwan I have seen.

The aboriginal settlement built by the Government and World Vision in Pingtong was truly scenic, homely and aesthetically, a work of art by itself.

The settlement showed us that despite the whole aboriginal village having to leave behind the homeland in the mountain, the Government and the NGO were able to rebuild and recreate another safe haven for them that retains much of their culture, heritage and identity.

Personally, this has been one of the most rewarding experiences working on the series – meeting some of the most humble Taiwanese people, experiencing the aboriginal culture in a way we never did before as an outsider.

Loh Kok Hong
Producer/Director
Xtreme Production, Singapore