Mountain rescue teams crewed by indigenous personnel are being established by the Ministry of the Interior in 12 regions, the National Fire Agency (NFA) said in a news release.
The Indigenous Special Search and Rescue Teams, administered by the NFA, would start work in May when Taiwan’s rainy season starts, said Deputy Minister of the Interior Wu Tang-an (吳堂安).
The teams are a joint venture between the ministry and the Council of Indigenous Peoples, it said. Indigenous people operating on familiar terrain are ideally suited to the first responder role in the highlands, Wu said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of the Interior
“The ministry has already earmarked funding for rescue gear, such as safety suits and helmets, breaching saws, tools and machinery for removing barriers and debris, field medical supplies, small watercraft, communications equipment and other materials,” Wu said.
Ministry officials pointed to last year’s flooding in Hualien County, which hit indigenous communities in the mountains hard in the same storm that caused the Mataian barrier lake breach that killed at least 19 people in Guangfu Township (光復).
Wu said that many indigenous communities are high up the mountains where road access is limited, and heavy rains and the ensuing erosion can render the terrain perilous. Isolated villages are prone to being cut off by typhoons, earthquakes, landslides and related disasters, and need to improve their local disaster prevention and response capabilities.
The program would be anchored around the idea of “mutual assistance, self-help and helping neighboring communities,” Wu said.
Under the plan, 12 stations would be established for teams in mountainous regions near New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung, Nantou, Chiayi, Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Yilan, Hualien and Taitung.
Funding, equipment and training would come from the central government, local governments implement the programs, and the NFA provides policy planning and professional training, while the team members are recruited from indigenous communities, he added.
“The training program incorporates indigenous knowledge, including the traditional manner of forest patrol, observing signs and conditions in the environment and observing changes in the weather and geography. These are combined with modern science and rescue techniques for practical application in Taiwan’s mountainous terrains,” Wu said.
Members will be trained in orienteering, search and rescue, field medicine and communications, Wu said, adding that team members would be certified as they passed the courses. Team members would need to meet fitness standards, he said.
NFA Director Hsiao Huan-chang (蕭煥章) said his agency is designing a uniform for team members that reflects their indigenous heritage. Professional training courses would include teaching by experts from Japan and the US, he added.
“We are recruiting a minimum of 10 indigenous members for each of the 12 jurisdictions, and we already have 20 people signed up in New Taipei City,” Hsiao said.
After completing training and entering active service, members would receive hazard pay for each search and rescue call-out, he added.
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