Taiwan Today

Natural disasters are, regrettably, a fact of life in Taiwan. The island sits at the collision point of the Eurasian and Philippine tectonic plates, which accounts both for its high mountains and its all-too-frequent earthquakes. The island is also visited by an average of six typhoons a year. While not every earth tremor or typhoon causes significant damage, their impact is often aggravated by the island's fragile geology and the results of over-exploitation of its land. The over-pumping of groundwater in plains areas has led to subsidence, as a result of which such areas are often inundated by the sea during typhoons, while unsuitable cultivation of slope-land is a contributory factor to the devastating mudslides brought by heavy rains that sometimes swallow remote mountainous villages. An annual death toll in double, sometimes triple figures from natural disasters used to be not unusual. More frequent man-made incidents also took lives.

Yet despite the frequency of disasters, both natural and man-made, Taiwan lacked a coordinated disaster management system until comparatively recently. What changed this was the catastrophe of the September 21, 1999, Chi-chi earthquake--locally called the 9/21 earthquake. The temblor registering 7.3 on the Richter scale--the strongest ever recorded in Taiwan--claimed 2,418 lives and injured more than 10,000 people according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior, as well as causing severe economic losses.

In the past, the mainstay of disaster rescue and relief was the military. Its large manpower base and ability to mobilize instantly proved invaluable. After the 9/21 earthquake the military was able to throw soldiers into the rescue effort without delay. But the shortcomings of this way of doing things were soon shown up by the sheer size of the post 9/21 task. More than 340,000 soldiers were sent to quake-stricken disaster zones. But few of them had any real rescue skills, nor was there anything like enough of the right sort of equipment, nor was there a proper command system to direct the rescue efforts. "We had no idea about how to undertake rescue operations in a disaster the size of 9/21. When fire fighters came on the scene, they had no equipment and did not know where people were buried. They could only treat the disaster like the aftermath of a fire, and dug through the rubble with bare hands," recalls Hsu Chih-min, leader of Taipei City Urban Search and Rescue Team (TUSAR). The aftermath of the 9/21 quake showed that the system established over the past 50 years, and detailed in the government's Disaster Prevention and Rescue Plan was less than adequate.

Professionals Needed

To meet the pressing need to have a professional rescue force, the Taipei City Government set up TUSAR in 2000 with NT$70 million (US$2.12 million) of funds from public donations and another NT$28 million (US$848,000) provided by the city government itself. TUSAR consists of 140 professionals in rescue, medical care, liaison and engineering and, together with a national special rescue team established later on by the National Fire Agency (NFA) and several other local teams, has been playing an indispensable role in domestic rescue operations as well as overseas.

To establish a better-equipped and trained rescue team was a necessary step to improve the country's disaster response capability. One of the most important parts of disaster management is resource coordination. The 9/21 earthquake created a window for the passage of the Disaster Prevention and Response Act, a draft of which had been under review by the executive and the legislative branches since 1995. One year after the quake, the act, the first of its kind in this country, finally passed its third reading and was promulgated in 2000.

Basically, the law lays down what kind of incidents merit a government response--the list includes all forms of natural disasters, fires, explosions, gas distribution and electricity grid incidents, air crashes, maritime incidents, transportation accidents and chemical spills--and what branch of government at what level--central, city and county, or township administration--is the designated regulatory and management authority. All levels have their particular tasks and responsibilities in disaster mitigation, response and recovery work. But basically the onus is on local administrations to assess their local threats and come up with disaster prevention plans, which must then be approved by the central level. The days when local disaster management meant merely waiting for the central government to act are gone.

At the cabinet level, the NFA, founded in 1995, was tasked by the act with management of natural disaster rescue and relief operations, in addition to fire prevention and rescue. The NFA is also responsible for carrying out the policies of the National Disaster Prevention and Protection Commission (NDPPC), the highest-ranking disaster management bureaucracy, which is headed by the vice premier. NFA Director-General Huang Chi-min points out in a white paper that safeguarding lives and property is the agency's goal, and he has been working hard to improve both the system's operation and its capabilities.

Also changed is the role the government plays in disaster prevention. In the past, natural disasters were regarded as uncontrollable and the government could only provide rescue and relief after a disaster happened. But new technology is making the idea of disaster mitigation--acting in order to minimize damage and casualties before or while an event unfolds--increasingly feasible.

At the forefront of this is the National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction (NCDR), established in 2003 as the offspring of a national program on hazard mitigation launched by the National Science Council in 1994. It is now an advisory body for the NDPPC.

Forewarned is Forearmed

"One of the NCDR's achievements is to turn the ability to only respond to a disaster into active management. We have done a great deal of research and development of technologies for disaster prevention and mitigation," says Chen Liang-chun, the NCDR's director. The reason why no great losses were sustained in 2006, despite Taiwan being hit by several typhoons and an earthquake registering 6.3 on the Richter scale, is, he thinks, because of the developments of the NCDR. The implementation of technology is particularly noteworthy. "In the past, first a disaster occurred then we had to clean up the result. This was hardly efficient. We need to know exactly in advance where mudslides or floodings are likely to happen, or which areas will be most seriously affected by an earthquake, and prepare ahead of time," Chen says. For example, the NCDR developed a computer program to integrate and analyze information about how water concentrates and rainfall is distributed in typhoons, the route coming typhoons may follow and which areas may flood or have mudslides. The information generated is invaluable for emergency response commanders in determining resource allocation, evacuation orders and the like.

The system has already seen remarkable results. For example, before the system was introduced, in 2001 Typhoons Toraji and Nari, with accumulated rainfall of 757 and 1,462 millimeters respectively, and a total of 1,148 mudslides, had a combined death toll of 318. But Typhoon Mindulle in 2004 and Typhoon Haitang in 2005 had far greater total rainfall--2,005 millimeters and 2,124 millimeters respectively--and a combined total of 1,628 mudslides, and yet a total death toll of only 56. Typhoon Longwang in October 2005, had rain similar to that of Toraji, yet there were only two deaths compared with Toraji's 214.

"The point is not the scope of a disaster but how we respond to it. We can now make forecasts more precisely and try to make the information available to all," Chen says. "To do this work, we have to connect all relevant agencies and civil groups. That's not easy. Only a few countries have tried to do this."

Coordination is Important

Because information is gathered and held by various agencies, a platform is required via which all information can be exchanged, integrated, analyzed and projections made without delay. The NCDR is establishing itself as such. To make the information it generates available to all who need it, the NCDR had been involved in transferring technology to local authorities. Plans to set up disaster-proof communities across the country are at work and local academic resources have also been co-opted. While the general public is largely unaware of the size of the ongoing work, there is one thing they can't miss: a lot more drills. Now few raise eyebrows at the announcements like one recently made over the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit System's tannoy: "A disaster rescue drill is scheduled for the morning of May 8th and 9th. Passengers should take the alternative exit at.... We are sorry for the inconvenience, please allow extra time to make transfers."

However, the task of disaster mitigation is getting increasingly complicated, given the huge variety of disaster types and changing social conditions. A national plan must be forward-looking and have strategies to cope with new forms of disasters, for example a change of sea level as a result of global warming. "We are doing research about the socio-economical impact of disasters while we are enhancing our technological potential. The issues we are dealing with include, for example, how an aging society should respond to a disaster; what kind of insurance need to be introduced to meet the needs of this society, etc.," Chen says. The NCDR has also been engaged in international coordination with foreign government agencies and academic and research institutes. Disaster management in Taiwan is now far more comprehensive than it was a decade ago. A breakthrough, according to Chen, is the gradual linking together of resources. When a large-scale disaster happens, rescue workers, medical professionals organized by the National Disaster Medical Assistance Team as well as social welfare officials will be on the spot in the disaster zone almost immediately. Information will be made available within a very short time.

With its disaster management skills now up to the level of the most advanced countries, Taiwan is enthusiastic about contributing to international humanitarian rescue work. "We should not be absent from such efforts," says Hsu. This aspiration has sent TUSAR to El Salvador, Indonesia or Iran in the past few years. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) should take a more active approach in making arrangements for us to go abroad," Hsu says. MOFA is only too willing, but sometimes there are complications, Wang Pao-han, section chief of MOFA's NGO Affairs Committee, explains. "We are never [willingly] absent. Should a need arise, MOFA will study the feasibility of dispatching a governmental rescue team. But without formal diplomatic relations or out of concern for China, not every country will accept our offer," Wang says. The international reality Taiwan always confronts will not obstruct its goodwill.

Set up under the National Fire Agency in 2002, the National Special Search and Rescue team (NSSAR) is tasked with disaster rescue. Its focus is to save lives. If a disaster occurs and the local authority requests help, an NSSAR rescue team is on standby around the clock, and will helicopter into the rescue area immediately, weather permitting. Speedy response was deemed essential in the wake of the erosion of public confidence in the competence of government agencies caused by the Bajang Creek incident in 2000. In the tragedy, four workers were eventually drowned after being caught in a flash flood and hanging onto a rope in swirling waters for hours, in full view of TV cameras on the river bank, waiting for a rescue that never happened because of poor coordination between government agencies.

NSSAR currently has 75 full-time employees working at five regional offices across the country. This might not seem sizeable, but the team can still do everything required of it. "The crew is specially picked from firefighters nationwide and every rescuer has a lot of talent," says Jiang Jih-ren, NSSAR's general commander. All the members of the team have special expertise in some area of rescue work, for example some are specialists in tunnel search and rescue, others in snow conditions, collapsed building rescue, high-rise building fires or chemical disaster rescues. Since it was founded, the team has carried out search and rescue work in forest fires, typhoons, floods, air crashes and mountain rescues, and has saved the lives of 3,000 people.

Jiang says the proposal to create a special national rescue team dates back to Typhoon Winnie in 1997, when a landslip caused the collapse of an apartment complex in Taipei County. The rescue operation revealed great shortcomings in the ability to deal with major disasters. But it was the 9/21 quake which made this initiative finally bloom, partly in response to the professionalism shown by the well-trained and equipped rescue teams from 21 countries which came to Taiwan's aid. The NSSAR eventually came into being in 2002.

Rescue missions are usually arduous and can be dangerous. "There are many locations where helicopters can't land. Strong winds might occur when hoisting the wounded. All kinds of impediments to using the helicopter may hinder the rescue," says Jiang. "For example, to lift a person away from a stranded ship or to rescue residents cut off by mudslides requires special skills." For a rescue to work, discipline, training, working strategies and daring, combined with superior judgment, are all required. "Our specialty is to search for and rescue lives in a very short period of time with the assistance of equipment such as life detectors or rescue dogs," Jiang says. Currently, 85 percent of team members have received training overseas in places as various as Denmark, Japan and the United States. The team also assists organizations that are part of the nation's emergency management system and local governments to build up rescue units.

In addition to responding to domestic need, the team represents Taiwan in international humanitarian rescue operations. "It is very important for us to participate in international rescues," Jiang says. So far the team had been to Iran in 2003 and Indonesia in 2004 and 2006 to help disaster rescues. "Rescue teams from Scandinavia can take a special jet to the disaster-hit country. We can't and have to make several transfers. But we discover that our rescue unit, though smaller in size, is still fully competent in search, medical assistance, communications and logistics functions," Jiang says. The international rescue team is usually made up with NSSAR, rescue units from local government, including TUSAR, and civil organizations such as the Red Cross Society of the Republic of China.

Seeing how foreign countries go about rescue, Jiang is appreciative of what he has got. "I think our equipment and the quality of rescue workers are well above the norm," Jiang says.

Write to Zoe Cheng at zoecheng@mail.gio.gov.tw