New Taipei Flood Drill: Hou You-yi Says Passive Response Has Transformed to Active Warning

New Taipei City Government held the '2026 Flood Prevention Exercise' today at the Taliaokeng Pump Station in Xinzhuang. The exercise focused on the optimization of a smart flood prevention platform using AI technology. Mayor Hou You-yi stated that the city's flood response has officially transitioned from 'passive reaction' to 'active warning.'

The exercise demonstrated 12 AI recognition systems across the city. Through self-built rainfall stations and monitoring videos, deep learning training is being conducted to enable direct quantitative judgment of future rainfall. Additionally, to reduce the physical burden on staff and optimize joint operations, the Water Resources Bureau introduced 'XR (Extended Reality).' During the drill, an operator wearing an XR headset remotely controlled the machinery of the Taliaokeng No. 2 Pump Station from outside the building.

Song De-ren, Director of the Water Resources Bureau, explained that the smart platform integrates weather radar, sewer water level gauges, and AI image recognition. It can process up to 60,000 data points per minute and push real-time updates to 29 district offices. Currently, the information systems of all 84 pump stations in the city are connected, allowing for disaster response to begin more than 2 hours earlier than in the past.

Hou You-yi added that this year's drill utilized low-altitude radar echo data from the Central Weather Administration, allowing for earlier and more accurate tracking of heavy rainfall compared to traditional radar. The full automation of the Taliaokeng No. 2 Pump Station marks a major milestone in New Taipei's smart flood prevention development, with AI-driven systems capable of making autonomous decisions for optimal water drainage based on water level changes.