Over NT$540 million collected in Noto earthquake donations: Ministry

Taipei, Jan. 22 (CNA) People in Taiwan donated more than NT$540 million (US$17.2 million) for relief aid and post-disaster reconstruction work in western Japan in the wake of the Noto earthquake on Jan. 1, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Monday, three days after a donation program ended.

From Jan. 5-19, NT$541,589,468 in 134,368 donations poured into the designated bank account the ministry set up after a magnitude 7.6 earthquake rocked the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture on the first day of 2024, according to the ministry's Department of Social Assistance and Social Work.

The donation program concluded at 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 19 and members of the public can no longer make donations to the account, the health ministry added.

The donated funds will be transferred to Japan via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the details of the donors will be made public on the health ministry's website.

According to an NHK report on Monday, local authorities in Japan have confirmed at least 232 deaths from the disaster, with over 15,000 people still housed in shelters in Ishikawa Prefecture.

In addition, as of 2 p.m. Sunday, the quake had caused damage to more than 34,000 houses and buildings while over 49,000 households still have no water supply, NHK reported.