About 350,000 people live in areas out of audible range of air-raid sirens, a National Audit Office report has found.
The people live in 38 towns and boroughs spread across seven cities and counties, the report said, citing information compiled by the National Police Agency in November last year.
The alarms are crucial for ensuring public safety in the event of an air attack or major natural disaster, it added.
Photo: Tsai Tseng-hien, Taipei Times
The National Police Agency’s Civil Defense Office completed a survey on Nov. 20 last year that used QGIS, an open-source geographic information system, to analyze the reach of the country’s 1,435 air-raid sirens.
The survey focused on boroughs and villages with a population of at least 9,605 people per square kilometer, and administrative areas with populations of at least 6,286 people.
The office found that in 38 communities across Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Taichung, Kaohsiung and Hsinchu County, people were unable to hear air-raid sirens due to their distance from the nearest siren or other geographical factors.
The Ministry of the Interior on Monday urged the governments of the affected cities and county to make necessary improvements.
Before more sirens are installed, communities could rely on police sirens, school public address systems and community offices to assist in alerting community members, it said.
The ministry said that the military would also coordinate with cellphone service providers to send text message warnings when emergencies occur, adding that it would test the system during the next annual Wanan military drill, when the public receives warnings to stay indoors while drills take place.
The public is unfamiliar with emergency procedures and unaware of where they can take cover during an emergency, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said, adding that the government should educate the public about emergency response drills.
Such drills would be especially important for those living near administration offices and military facilities, which would most likely be attacked in an armed conflict, he said.
“The Wanan drills are scheduled and people know to stay indoors, but in the event of a sudden attack, people are unlikely to know where to find safety,” retired air force lieutenant general Chang Yan-ting (張延廷) said.
Given the threat of military conflict with China, the government must ensure that people are informed about how to respond, he said, adding that the government should hold drills for the public.
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