President Ma Ying-jeou reaffirmed his hope Tuesday that all households displaced by Typhoon Morakot will be resettled in permanent homes by the anniversary of the disaster that battered southern Taiwan last August. Addressing a groundbreaking ceremony for a housing project for Morakot victims in Kaohsiung County's Siaolin Village in southern Taiwan, Ma said it would not be easy to realize the goal but vowed that the government will do whatever it can to achieve it. More than 800 households have already been resettled in newly built permanent houses in major disaster zones in Nantou, Chiayi, Pingtung and Kaohsiung counties, while others remain sheltered in military barracks or temporary prefabs, Ma said. Typhoon Morakot struck Taiwan Aug. 7-9, 2009, triggering the worst flooding and mudslides in southern Taiwan in half a century and leaving more than 700 people dead or missing and more than 10,000 families homeless. The devastation also led to the resignation of former Premier Liu Chao-shiuan for what critics said was the government's botched response to the disaster. In an effort to enhance public confidence in his administration's competence and efficiency, Ma said the govenrment will stage a series of disaster response training drills in April to hone rescue and relief skills. Relevant government agencies and military units will complete personnel deployment and preparatory work before the advent of the typhoon season, Ma said. Noting that the military has made disaster response one of its core missions, Ma said military personnel arrived in Kaohsiung County's Jiasian Towship within 17 minutes after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck the area recently. The quick response pointed to progress the military has made since the Morakot disaster, Ma said, adding that all military units in Taiwan's four major combat zones have been assigned post-disaster relief missions in specific locations and completed many rounds of training exercises. 