Taiwan to hold disaster response drills, issue quake alert warning

Taipei, Sept. 6 (CNA) Taiwan will hold a series of drills from Sept. 18-20 to mark the annual National Disaster Prevention Day, including sending an emergency alert message warning of an earthquake, the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) said Thursday,

Citing Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) during a press conference after a MOI meeting, Deputy Interior Minister Wu Tang-an (吳堂安) said the "earthquake relief mobilization drills" are expected to involve more than 1,000 participants from various ministries and local governments.

Wu explained the National Fire Agency (NFA) planned the three-day exercises to test Taiwan's preparedness and strengthen its earthquake resilience.

Meanwhile, a text alert will be sent to people's mobile phones at 9:21 a.m. on Sept 20 simulating that a magnitude 7.3 earthquake has struck 23.5 kilometers east of Chiayi County Hall resulting in many collapsed buildings and human casualties.

According to Wu, Liu said the message sent by the Central Weather Administration will warn people to "duck, take cover and hold still."

Sirens will also sound across the country at 10 a.m. to warn people in coastal towns to be aware of a possible tsunami.

From 10:59 a.m. to 11:01 a.m., all television channels will cut to the Public Television Service for a two-minute broadcast of disaster prevention information, Wu, citing Liu, said.

Taiwan began observing National Disaster Prevention Day on Sept. 21, 2000, one year after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake in central Taiwan killed more than 2,400 people.

Besides hosting various international forums from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31 to mark the 25th anniversary of the deadly 1999 earthquake, the NFA said during the MOI meeting in the morning that activities including online quizzes will be made available to the public during this period.

Liu expressed hope that people would actively participate in the activities to familiarize themselves with responding to sudden disasters while increasing their awareness of disaster prevention.