A new natural disaster protection mechanism is primed for a national rollout. A total of 7,027 outlets, including all 7-Eleven stores and gas stations of CPC Corp. and Taiwan Sugar Corp. (Taisugar) islandwide, will be integrated into a flood and disaster information collecting and reporting system tested during Typhoons Saola and Tembin.
The Executive Yuan made this announcement at a press conference today following a meeting of the National Disaster Prevention and Response Council (NDPRC). Interior Minister and NDPRC Deputy Director Lee Hong-yuan subsequently presented certificates of appreciation to 7-Eleven as well as CPC Vice President Lin Sheng-yi and Taisugar Chairman Hu Mao-lin for their enterprises' contributions to disaster prevention.
In its briefing, the Water Resources Agency (WRA) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs said this year the agency and the Directorate General of Highways of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications cooperated with 7-Eleven, which has 4,890 outlets nationwide, so important warnings could be immediately communicated to the public through the stores' cash register panels. These include flood warnings so residents can install flood-prevention gates or evacuate ahead of time and alerts of blocked and closed provincial highways so drivers may find and use detours sooner.
With the help of 7-Eleven, CPC and Taisugar, the WRA's dissemination channels have now soared to 8,600, noted the agency, which has also improved its reporting services by making its own phone calls to gather relevant information. The information gained from the new system's test runs during Typhoons Saola and Tembin will help the WRA not only reallocate water pumps but also further analyze the potential for flooding in different areas.
"The more broadcast channels and information collection sites available for flood and disaster prevention, the better," the Executive Yuan said. It thanked the aforementioned businesses for taking the lead in this project and expressed hope that more enterprises will follow suit, making the network even more extensive and comprehensive.