BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- After Typhoon Ragasa left deaths, injuries, wrecked streets and power outages in Taiwan, indignant netizens have flooded online platforms to vent anger over the chaotic disaster response by local authorities.

The bungled response in eastern Taiwan's Hualien County has become the focal point of public outrage online, with many netizens contrasting it with the effective and well-coordinated response to Typhoon Ragasa on the Chinese mainland.

On Tuesday afternoon, a gigantic barrier lake in Hualien burst following heavy rains from the super typhoon, unleashing torrents of mud and water that swept away the Matai'an Creek Bridge on a major highway and flooded Guangfu Township, causing numerous deaths largely among elderly residents who did not manage to evacuate.

Although the barrier lake had formed as early as July upstream of Hualien's Matai'an Creek during Typhoon Wipha, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities in Taiwan failed to take effective measures, citing the so-called difficulty of operating in the mountainous area.

"This is a man-made disaster caused by the DPP. How despicable! The barrier lake has been over there for ages. Yet the DPP has been running around to push its recall vote campaign till it's too late to handle it!" commented a YouTube user on a Taiwan news channel page.

"The mainland can fix a barrier lake problem in as few as five days. However, Taiwan officials in August claimed that it would take a year to solve it! These impotent officials couldn't care less about people's lives, and Lai Ching-te should also be held accountable," read another comment under a YouTube video on the Hualien flood.

Across the Taiwan Strait, however, the picture is quite different. On Wednesday afternoon, Typhoon Ragasa made landfall in Guangdong Province on the Chinese mainland.

In response, central Chinese authorities swiftly earmarked 350 million yuan (about 49 million U.S. dollars) to support rescue and relief work in regions impacted by the typhoon. More than 2 million people were moved to safety in a remarkably short time, a feat made possible by local officials who planned early and counted heads late into the night to ensure the smooth relocation. Thanks to the well-coordinated efforts, Guangdong is smoothly weathering the super typhoon and gradually returning to normalcy.

The stark comparison has also sparked heated discussions on Taiwan's popular online platform PTT.

"The typhoon didn't make landfall in Taiwan. It has moved to western Guangdong Province," read a PTT post, adding people's normal life in Guangdong resumed within a day.

Many users criticized the DPP authorities for shirking their due responsibility. "Surprisingly, the top priority for them in disaster response is to suppress their political opponents," read a PTT comment.

"The DPP is too busy with an internal power struggle to get anything else done," another comment said. ■