Residents of Wutai and Sandimen townships in the southernmost country of Pingtung, one of the two hardest-hit regions when Typhoon Morakot pummeled Taiwan Aug. 7-9, are planning a mass exodus in the wake of the storm's devastation. 'We hope to see all 600 of Wutai's residents, most of whom belong to the Rukai Tribe, airlifted out of the mountains to safety, ' said Tseng Chih-yung, head of the Aboriginal Affairs Department under the Pingtung county government. Rescue helicopters authorized by the Central Emergency Operation Center made over 30 sorties to three villages in Wutai township Thursday, evacuating some 280 villagers to safety. Of the three villages, 76 of the 80 residents of Ali village had been airlifted out as of Thursday, with only four young men left behind to clean up the area and release animals and livestock kept by the villagers. Roads leading to neighboring Dawu village were all cut off by floods and landslides and were not expected to be fully reopened for two years, according to the Wutai township authorities. Meanwhile, Dashe village in Sandimen township, also home to Rukai tribal people, was awaiting complete helicopter evacuation of its some 400 inhabitants over the following several days. According to Lege-ai, a Sandimen township representative who navigated debris and broken roads on foot for seven hours to reach Dashe village the previous day, the entire village had subsided, with many houses inundated by mudslides. During Thursday's evacuation, the Rukai tribal elders wore their traditional garb, while younger tribesmen took their ceremonial swords with them, anxious that they might never return to their homes again. According to the latest government statistics, 108 people had been killed as of 3 p.m Thursday, including three crew members of a helicopter that crashed while on a relief mission in Wutai township, with 58 missing and 45 injured. 