Fri, Jul 10, 2015 page8

• Crisis relief hampered by access

  • By Chan Shun-kuei 詹順貴
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  After the explosion and fire at the Formosa Fun Coast (八仙海岸) water park, the Ministry of the Interior convened a panel on June 29, which decided to add into Article 14 of the Fire Services Act (消防法) the stipulation that spraying flammable powder in public spaces in which sports, recreational or other public events are held can easily lead to fires and is therefore prohibited unless permitted by the authorities.

  Although this measure might come a little too late, it is gratifying to see the government making a speedy response. However, could it be doing more?

  News reports mostly focussed on the hellish scenes, the number of victims, emergency treatment at the hospitals, the pain and trauma visited on relatives and loved ones, the questioning of the persons responsible and, most recently, the sympathetic assistance and donations from the public and even from Japan. However, it appears that little attention is being paid to the difficulty of access that ambulances had at the scene of the incident.

  Ambulances responding to the disaster were hampered by congestion on Provincial Highway No. 61 and Bali District’s (八里) Longmi Road, which were the roads used to transport victims to the hospitals. Moreover, there was only a small road to get in and out of the water park, which was too narrow for vehicles to be parked or to turn them around, causing serious delays in transporting the victims for emergency care.

  Article 26 of the regulation on the non-urban land development review processes under the Regional Plan Act (區域計畫法) stipulates that land development sites should have at least two outbound roads that are connected to roads classed as township roads or above, one of which should be at least 8m wide, while the other should be wide enough for emergency use or at least wide enough for fire engines to pass through.

  However, this rule was not introduced until June 6, 2001. The introduction and the chapter pertaining to amusement parks in the version released on March 7, 1995, did not have this regulation and only stipulated that there should be at least one outbound road, of which the width should be 8m or more.

  Formosa Fun Coast was built in 1986, long before the 1995 version of the Act was enacted. A search on the Google Maps shows that there is just one outbound passage from the park, which seems to be less than 8m in width. Difficulties in transporting the victims to hospitals were inevitable in a catastrophe in which 500 people sustained injuries.

  Since the water park was built before the regulation was created, there is no need to hold the authorities responsible for permitting the water park to be built.

  The question is, what can the government and the public learn from this terrible event?

  Several relevant issues have been subject to intense scrutiny, such as the management and allocation of medical resources, the establishment and integration of the crisis relief control system and regulations on hazardous materials in large venues.

  In addition, it is important to ask how the ministry should hold local governments responsible for demanding and ensuring that organizers of large outdoor or indoor events submit an emergency evacuation plan under existing regulations, such as Article 35 of the Regulation for the Management of Tourist Amusement Enterprise (觀光遊樂業管理規則), which stipulates that tourist amusement enterprises have to provide safety equipment and emergency medical aid equipment on its premises, and establish emergency disaster relief and emergency medicine systems.

  Furthermore, the government should consider how to extend Article 26 of the regulation on non-urban land development review processes to establishments created before the regulation was enacted and call on local governments to conduct a full inspection on development projects launched prior to June 6, 2001, which were already completed but have inadequate outbound roads.

  In one month’s time the media will have moved on, but the agony of the victims will last for a lifetime. Since the disaster is the focus of public opinion right now, the ministry should add into and amend the aforementioned regulations as soon as possible and call on local governments to ensure that those businesses will, in the shortest time possible, improve or construct outbound roads and infrastructure that meet the requirements for crisis relief.

  Environmental Protection Administration Minister Wei Kuo-yen’s (魏國彥) criticism of the public for having no scientific common sense serve only to reveal his insensitivity and incompetence. Victims and their families would be better off simply ignoring him entirely.

  Chan Shun-kuei is a board member of the Taiwan Rural Front and Treasure Our Land, Taiwan.

  Translated by Ethan Zhan
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