Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government

To remind the public on flood preparedness, the Hydraulic Engineering Office (HEO) unveiled a new disaster awareness promotion film featuring Mayor Ko Wen-je on their website.

In the clip, Ko pointed out that based to past experience from disasters such as Japan’s Hanshin Earthquake, self-help plays an important role and accounts for 70% of effective disaster prevention strategy, while mutual assistance take up 20% and government action only 10% of the response. These strategies also reflect upon the survival rate as well. Therefore, the knowledge on self-help and mutual assistance during crisis become very important in the face of drastic climate changes in years to come.

Taking a look at the floods in recent years, residents can take steps to prepare themselves for such disasters, such as readying sand bags, cleaning out gutters, and removing fallen leaves and branches.

The mayor also reminds the public that a key to maintaining high disaster awareness is to keep track of the latest developments. He encourages residents to check the Taipei City Disaster Prevention Web or join the city government’s LINE group for the latest weather information.

The HEO remarked that rapid climate changes have led to heavy rains and flash floods. Given the extreme weather, the effectiveness of proven disaster prevention mechanisms and construction techniques becomes more limited. Therefore, in addition to investing in infrastructure upgrades, raising public awareness on disaster prevention has become a top priority for the agency.

Film Links:
3 min. version: https://youtu.be/AmDBBImqTME
1 min. version: https://youtu.be/Hdx1-_WCKF0