TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In the first ruling of its kind, Tainan authorities have been ordered to pay NT$200,000 (about US$6,330) each in compensation to 11 Indigenous former residents of a village destroyed in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot in 2009.

In 2012, part of the Bunun Uaasik Tribe (復興部落) in Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District was buried under a landslide following days of heavy rain, per UDN. On Thursday, a Kaohsiung court ruled that authorities had failed to dispose of a large amount of gravel and soil that accumulated during the 2009 typhoon, which washed over the village three years later.

The court ruled that the authority’s negligence had impacted the Indigenous residents' constitutional rights to maintain their cultural identity. The case marks the first instance when a court has ruled in favor of Indigenous claimants arguing their customary rights had been infringed.

Communal living and working practices of the Bunun people were made impossible by the disaster, as residents were forced to relocate to an area where this lifestyle was not practical. The court found that this greatly affected their ability to carry out traditional cultural practices, and awarded compensation on this basis.