The interior ministry has announced that it will hold a series of nationwide earthquake and disaster prevention exercises on September 21. At a press conference announcing the exercises on Friday, interior minister Lin Yu-Chang (林右昌) said the goal is to ensure that the central and local governments as well as the society are all prepared.
This year's exercises will feature a series of events involving over 1,000 disaster relief staff. One drill will simulate the impact of a 6.9 magnitude earthquake in northwest Taiwan resulting in the collapse of several buildings. On the day of the drills, the Central Weather Bureau will first send out a nationwide alert, urging the public to participate in earthquake preparedness. Later in the day, they plan to issue a mock tsunami warning to coastal residents and switch all television programming to emergency messaging for two minutes.
Lin also announced that people can now use the government’s fire and disaster prevention mobile app (消防防災e點通) even when offline. The app offers real-time alerts for rainstorms, typhoons, earthquakes, and landslides based on the user’s location and has multiple language options, including English.
The government also plans to expand disaster prevention capabilities through collaboration with private organizations and charities such as the Tzu Chi Foundation, the Taiwan Association of Disaster Prevention Industry, and Forward Alliance, among others.