Disaster response drills to focus on evacuation: minister

"The nationwide training exercises from March 26-April 30 will focus on honing skills for precautionary operations in the event of typhoons or tropical storms, including drills on evacuating residents from dangerous zones after storm warnings are issued, " Jiang said in response to media inquiries before attending a Legislative Yuan hearing.

The exercises are aimed at preventing a recurrence of the problems that were exposed in last year's response to Typhoon Morakot's devastation in southern Taiwan, Jiang said.

Heavy rains brought by the typhoon triggered mudslides that buried entire mountain villages in Kaohsiung County, leaving more than 700 people dead or missing, which later led to the resignation of former Premier Liu Chao-shiuan. Many roads damaged in the region's worst-ever flooding in half a century has not yet been fully repaired.

The nationwide drills will mobilize personnel in four major disaster prevention and response systems -- civic administration, police, firefighting and military -- to refine rescue and relief operations and strategies, Jiang said.

"The exercises will cover evacuation and shelter, standard operation procedures in closing off bridges and major pathways, airborne rescue and relief, and delivery of relief supplies, " he added.

Relevant central government agencies, city and county governments around the country and military units will also take part in the exercises, he said.

During the exercises, Jiang said, he will take up station at the Central Emergency Operation Center at selected times to coordinate operations among various central government agencies and among central and local governments.

President Ma Ying-jeou and Premier Wu Den-yih will also visit the central operations center to offer suggestions, the minister added.

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