President Lai attends eastern Taiwan quake drill observed by 18 countries

Taipei, Sept. 18 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Friday inspected a large-scale earthquake disaster response drill in eastern Taiwan, attended by representatives from 18 countries and more than 150 international search-and-rescue and medical personnel.

"Disasters know no borders," Lai said in remarks after the inspection, stressing the importance of conducting joint drills in peacetime to establish common procedures and coordination, so that countries can mount more effective rescue operations when disasters strike.

The three-day drill, held in Taitung County from Wednesday through Friday as part of Taiwan's National Disaster Prevention Day, simulated a magnitude 7.3 earthquake in the southern section of the East Longitudinal Valley and involved personnel from 11 countries.

American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene, Canadian Trade Office in Taipei Executive Director Marie-Louise Hannan, and Swedish Representative to Taiwan Carl Michael Gräns were among foreign representatives attending Friday's activities.

Lai, accompanied by National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳), visited a forward disaster response center, an emergency shelter exercise and a simulated disaster rescue operation.

The drill adopted a "semi-notified, unscripted" format and simulated damage to critical infrastructure and disruptions to external assistance. It also incorporated lessons from Typhoon Danas and the Mataian Creek barrier lake disaster last year, including backup communications and evacuation and shelter arrangements.

Lai said the government had expanded international disaster-response cooperation in recent years, including cooperation between Taiwan and Germany on disaster prevention, humanitarian assistance and joint rescue operations.

He added that more than 177,000 people had now been trained as disaster preparedness personnel, up from over 100,000 at the end of last year.