Hualien County to Conduct Landslide Dam Disaster Evacuation Drill on April 30, Replenishes Emergency Kits

Hualien Flood News Highlight (Hualien, April 26, Central News Agency reporter Li Hsien-feng) Hualien's Guangfu Township will conduct an evacuation drill on the 30th. The county government has inventoried various disaster preparedness tasks, and considering last year's Matadaan River landslide dam disaster severely impacted Guangfu, Fenglin, and Wanrong, some affected households lost their original emergency kits due to the flood, so replenishment operations have been initiated. Hualien County Government and Guangfu Township Office will conduct a large-scale evacuation drill on the 30th, including a tabletop exercise and a live drill. Premier's Office Political Commissioner Ji Liancheng recently stated while chairing a central coordination meeting for post-disaster reconstruction in Guangfu Township that he would be present to guide and issue drill scenarios. The county government stated that to ensure residents have basic emergency supplies, it has launched emergency kit replenishment operations for Guangfu Township, Fenglin Township, and Wanrong Township, which were severely affected by the Matadaan landslide dam disaster. As of the 25th, a cumulative total of 2905 kits have been replenished, and replenishment is ongoing, prioritizing affected households and assisted by the Guangfu volunteer fire brigade, local government offices, and village chiefs. In addition to their highly recognizable bright orange-red color, the emergency kits are equipped with basic first aid and emergency supplies, including triangular bandages, elastic bandages, wound dressings, alcohol wipes, band-aids, whistles, and thermal emergency blankets, which can meet the needs for emergency lighting, simple bandaging, and calling for help, assisting residents in self-rescue and mutual aid at the first instance. The county government emphasized that in addition to providing basic supplies, it is more important to remind residents to prepare personal medications, drinking water, and important documents themselves during normal times, implementing the disaster prevention concept of "self-help and mutual aid"; by combining drills with material preparation, the county continues to enhance its response capabilities to extreme weather and complex disasters, protecting the lives and property of residents. (Editor: Wu Su-jou) 1150426