Taiwan prepares to launch disaster management alliance — Taipei Times
In Taipei, Taiwan, officials and disaster response experts from different countries were welcomed ahead of the official launch of the World Alliance for Disaster Management (WADM). The new international association is intended to strengthen disaster preparedness and response.
Cooperation during disasters
Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung and Interior Minister Liu Shih-fang hosted a dinner in Taipei for alliance delegates. As Taipei Times reports, WADM will bring together governments, emergency response services, companies, academic institutions and civil society organizations to cooperate at all stages of disaster management.
According to Lin, the alliance will promote professional training, information exchange, capacity building, joint exercises and the practical exchange of experience. Cooperation will cover disaster prevention, early warning, emergency response and post-disaster recovery.
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Training center in Nantou
Lin said that WADM is advancing President William Lai's vision of turning the National Fire Agency's training center in Nantou County into a major training hub for disaster response specialists in the Indo-Pacific region.
Liu Shih-fang noted that the international assistance Taiwan received after the deadly 1999 Jiji earthquake demonstrated the importance of cross-border cooperation. According to her, Taiwan holds large-scale earthquake response exercises every year and is ready to provide international partners with professional training at the Nantou center.
This year, search and rescue teams from the United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, Turkey, the Philippines, Timor-Leste and Fiji, as well as medical teams from Australia and Japan, took part in the exercises. Palau Vice President Raynold Oilouch said that his country is a founding state of WADM and is currently experiencing its driest conditions in more than two decades. Delegates are to visit the National Fire Agency's training center in Nantou.
