At Thursday's Cabinet meeting, Premier Chen Chien-jen received a briefing from the National Science and Technology Council on a plan to develop scientific and technological solutions for disaster resilience (2023-2026). In recent years, Taiwan has experienced increasingly extreme rainfall patterns due to climate change, with the impact from typhoons, droughts and flooding becoming more apparent, the premier said. The plan will help protect people's livelihoods by harnessing science and technology to strengthen the disaster prevention and response capabilities of central and local governments.
The premier said the government has been continually adjusting and improving its National Science and Technology Program for Hazard Mitigation, which has achieved significant success since its introduction. The relevant ministries and agencies are integrating their scientific and technological capabilities to study extreme compound disasters, working together to build a more resilient Taiwan.
Premier Chen said that ministries and agencies participating in the plan must take proactive action to achieve its policy objectives of incorporating digital technologies into disaster prevention and response; improving disaster risk assessments and devising adaptive strategies; and developing smart governance to improve community resilience against disasters—particularly through the use of artificial intelligence (AI), AI algorithms and other high-tech solutions. The premier also said that local governments should cooperate on disaster planning and relief with the central government and the public to improve disaster response.