The Hualien County Government has asked the Legislative Yuan to formulate evacuation plans for another potential barrier lake collapse and to execute them if needed. However, the legal basis for the request is unclear.
Under Article 35, Clause 2 of the Disaster Prevention and Protection Act (災害防救法), if the local government “fails to cope with a disaster, the central disaster prevention and protection operation regulating authorities shall take the initiative to send its employees to provide the support, or assign coordinators to provide support and assistance as requested” by the local government.
The key word here is “assistance” — chief responsibility still resides with the local government. When a mediator helps settle a dispute, it does not end up taking charge instead.
Hualien County’s Regional Disaster Prevention and Protection Plan, submitted to the Central Disaster Prevention and Relief Meeting Report, states that in the event of a disaster, “the relevant authorities of this county’s Emergency Operations Center shall, according to local conditions, rainfall volumes and working databases of areas prone to flooding and landslides, demarcate and announce control zones in which to limit or prohibit entry, and carry out evacuations.”
For evacuations, each township’s or city’s Emergency Operations Center “shall send notification via broadcast, fax, phone, text or messenger to village and neighborhood wardens and other relevant units to evacuate residents.” Village and neighborhood wardens are then required to use any means necessary to spread the evacuation notice to each household. Additionally, the Hualien County Department of Civil Affairs is responsible for supervising township or city offices in handling disaster notification and evacuation training.
The roles played by authorities from central and county governments to township offices and villages are clear. Pushback from the Hualien County Government shows it is attempting to shirk responsibility and demonstrates a lack of care for the safety of its residents.
Nevertheless, Hualien County’s Guangfu Township (光復) is not without success. Dama Village (大馬) has shown that successful evacuations are people-driven. The Hualien County Government should not be shy to ask the Dama Village warden for advice.
Huang Wei-ping works in public service and has a master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts.
Translated by Gilda Knox Streader
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