Buildings designated as air-raid shelters must be open for members of the public to take refuge when an air-raid alert sounds during the urban resilience drills from Tuesday to Friday next week, Deputy Minister of the Interior Maa Shyh-yuan (馬士元) said yesterday.
Designated shelters include office and residential buildings, schools, and underground parking lots in parks, as long as they display an air-raid shelter sticker, Maa said in an interview with media personality Wang Shi-chi (王時齊).
For the past two years, the National Land Management Agency and National Police Agency have been taking stock of such shelters across the nation and marking them with stickers, he said.
Photo: CNA
Regarding disaster responders, Maa told Wang that about 52,000 people have been trained as disaster relief volunteers, with the ultimate goal being to train at least one-sixth of the nation’s population.
Asked about emergency evacuation bags, Maa said that the bag he carries to work can function as an evacuation bag, as it contains a tourniquet that matches US military specifications, a simple first-aid kit, a power bank and bandages.
He advised that everyone prepare an evacuation bag tailored to their individual needs, with three main scenarios in mind.
First is a daily self-protection kit for use when going out, Maa said.
Second is a grab-and-go kit for emergencies such as earthquakes or fires, with supplies lasting for about three days, he said.
The third is for situations where one is trapped indoors for several days, in which case sufficient food and water should be prepared, he said, adding that for residents in mountainous areas, basic supplies should last 10 to 14 days.
Community equipment, such as traffic cones and warning tape, is usually purchased by village chiefs, but not every village has them, he said.
The Cabinet has therefore proposed a NT$410 billion (US$14.07 billion) special bill aimed at strengthening the nation’s economic, social and homeland security resilience, he said.
Of the total budget, NT$4.25 billion is to be allocated to support the 7,000 villages across the nation in building disaster prevention warehouses, assist 368 townships in establishing disaster prevention collaboration centers, and improve public air-raid facilities, Maa said, urging lawmakers to pass the bill.
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