Taipei - Taiwan, facing the worst typhoon-related flooding and mudslides in half a century, on Thursday sought aid from foreign countries.

The Taiwanese Foreign Ministry stated that the country needed equipment and materials to clear roads, recover bodies and shelter survivors, as well as helicopters and pilots to deliver these materials.

In addition, disinfectants, sterilizing agents and portable water purification systems were need in large supply to prevent the breakout of disease.

The ministry said it notified the United States, Japan, the European Union, New Zealand, Australia and other countries of its emergency needs.

The Foreign Ministry also thanked foreign countries for their donation of cash and relief material and their messages of concern.

As of Thursday, China, the US, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong donated cash in aid of the flood victims, and Singapore sent a chartered plane carrying 50,000- Singapore-dollars (35,000-US-dollars) worth of food and medicine.

Typhoon Morakot slammed into Taiwan over the weekend, triggering mudslides that buried several mountain villages in the south.

As of Thursday, the typhoon was officially reported to have left 116 dead, 59 missing and 25 injured, with agricultural losses surging to 8.8 billion Taiwan dollars (267 million US dollars), the second highest in the island's history.

The death toll is expected to rise as many villagers remain trapped, and rescuers cannot reach some settlements due to mudslides and damaged bridges.

The head of Hsiaolin village in Kaohsiung County said 600 villagers were buried alive. Out of the village's nearly 200 houses, only two are standing.

Houses in other villages have been swept away by mudslides and their inhabitants remain missing.

The government has been criticized by the public for being slow in getting rescue efforts underway.

President Ma Ying-jeou on a Wednesday visit to a disaster area was greeted by angry survivors with a placard saying "Crippled Government" and was told by one survivor: "We voted for you, but it is so hard to see you."

Huang Huang-hui, deputy principal of Cheng Kung University, told a meeting of the ruling Kuomintang Party that it was absurd that local authorities had to apply to higher authorities to request military helicopters to search for survivors.

"The only way for President Ma to understand the situation of the survivors is for the Presidential Office to be flooded," he said.

Premier Liu Chao-shiuan however defended the government's position, saying bad weather prevented a more rapid dispatch of the helicopters.(dpa)