At the Cabinet meeting held today, Premier Mao Chi-kuo reminded agencies to continue fighting the current drought while also undertaking flood prevention tasks in advance of the rainy season starting in May.
The premier gave these instructions after hearing reports by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and Ministry of the Interior (MOI) on the government's precautions against typhoons and resultant floods, which are most frequent in summer and autumn.
This year, Taiwan has been threatened by a prolonged drought, the worst in 60-plus years. Starting April 8, third-phase water rationing—reducing household water supplies to five days a week on a rotational basis—has been imposed on parts of New Taipei City, Taoyuan City and Hsinchu County. On May 4, the same measure will also be applied in Kaohsiung City.
Mao requested the MOEA to continue monitoring the development of the drought, implement water rationing measures carefully, and reinforce publicity on the importance of water conservation to ensure a steady water supply.
The premier also asked relevant agencies and local governments to take precautions against floods, which are frequent during Taiwan's rainy season. To safeguard citizens' lives and property against natural disasters, special attention should be paid to reporting and pre-warning systems as well as the inspection and testing of such facilities as ditch drainage, water gates and water pumps.
As the MOI's Emergency Management Information Cloud (EMIC) is the main information exchange platform between the local and central authorities, Mao asked the MOI to test and check the system thoroughly so that it will perform securely and effectively during disasters.
The MOEA emphasized that it will do its utmost in drought control and flood prevention. It has adopted smart disaster monitoring and control systems that use new technologies such as automatic image recognition systems and flood sensors, and it will cooperate with local governments and transfer them these technologies. Furthermore, information reported by volunteers and enterprises will help to reinforce flood-prevention consciousness at the community level.
The MOI will actively supervise and guide all preparatory measures at both the central and local level, strengthening disaster prevention capabilities to protect the lives and property of citizens.
Moreover, the EMIC is able to pool information from different online sources such as private and company disaster bulletins, social networks, geospatial information platforms, images, and searches for missing persons. The cloud will undergo operation and management testing continuously before being put into action.