Relief operations for nuclear and biochemical incidents will be included in this year’s annual Han Kuang (漢光) military drills, a Ministry of National Defense official said yesterday.
Acting ministry spokesperson colonel Lo Shao-ho (羅紹和) made the comment at a press conference held to publicize this year’s Han Kuang military exercises.
Real-fire drills are slated to take place between April 11 and April 15, while computer-simulated war games will be held between July 18 and July 22, the ministry said.
The military said that it has started to meet with local governments officials as well as other ministries to map out comprehensive rescue and relief operations in the event that multiple disasters strike the nation.
Taiwan has three operational nuclear power plants, two located in New Taipei City (新北市) and one in Pingtung County. A fourth one in being built in New Taipei City.
As to whether the ministry has the wherewithal to handle nuclear incidents like the one in Japan, an official who wished to remain anonymous said that because of the large population and the small number of military bases in northern Taiwan, a lack of shelter and traffic could be a problem in the event of an emergency evacuation in response to a nuclear incident in the area.
Meanwhile, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) ordered the establishment of a group under the Executive Yuan’s Office of Disaster Management, with the remit of reassuring the public when unexpected disasters occur.
Wu made the remarks at an impromptu meeting held on Monday where he demanded government officials revise their original disaster prevention and relief plans for this year following the massive earthquake in Japan on Friday that triggered a tsunami and seriously damaged its nuclear plants.
Deputy chief of the Office of Disaster Management Huang Shao-ku (黃少古), said that disaster prevention exercises planned for New Taipei City and Pingtung County, where the nation’s nuclear power plants are located, would be expanded to incorporate reactions to nuclear power plant incidents caused by earthquakes.
The government should also establish an earthquake early warning system like the one in Japan, Vice Premier Sean Chen (陳?) said.
National Communication Commission Chairperson Su Herng (蘇蘅) said the agency would work with mobile phone operators to establish a network that automatically relays an earthquake warning over mobile phone networks.
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