The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) has drafted amendments that would increase the size of air defense shelters in new buildings, including schools and factories, to 1m2 per person, with more shelters to be located underground.
The proposed amendments to articles 141, 142 and 144 of the Building Technical Regulations (建築技術規則) were made in consideration of the likelihood that airstrikes would most likely be missile attacks, it said.
The draft amendments would require that shelter ventilation systems be mechanical, connect to emergency power supplies and provide a ventilation rate of at least 25m3 per hour per square meter of floor space.
Photo: CNA
Emergency lighting and power outlet devices would be installed in shelters, while requirements would be updated for door and window fireproofing, the draft says.
Washrooms would also be a required fixed feature in newly built air defense shelters.
The draft cited standards employed in other countries for public evacuation spaces used for short-term shelter, meaning one day or less.
For example, Finland requires a minimum of 0.75m2 per person, while South Korea mandates 0.825m2 and Switzerland 1m2, it says.
Current guidelines in Taiwan stipulate a minimum of 0.75m2 per person, which would be increased to 1m2, mainly for new buildings, an official with knowledge of the matter said.
The Building Technical Regulations, which mostly concern new buildings, allow for 0.9m2 per person according to calculations by the National Police Agency, which can be increased to 1m2, the official said.
The draft amendments would also require that reinforced concrete be at least 30cm thick for shelter walls, ceilings and spaces surrounding above-ground entrances and exits.
Current regulations call for a thickness of 24cm, below the 30cm enforced in South Korea, Switzerland and Singapore, the draft amendments say.
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