Identifying disaster risk: How science and technology shield populations against natural disasters in Taiwan

Abstract Effective disaster management is essential for all the levels of disaster response in Taiwan, including topic, regional, and national. In order to increase the potential of the response phases for sensitive groups, new techniques and technologies have been applied over the last decades. For that reason, innovative strategies and systems have been developed by both central and local governments that include disaster warning mechanisms, earthquake real-time report systems, resource applications, disaster information and intelligence networks, disaster educational and training programs, etc. In central-west Taiwan, the local governments of Chiayi City and the counties of Changhua and Yunlin have established programs in which their populations are informed about the possible impacts of disasters and adopt effective practice concepts for disaster management. These programs focus on areas with high disaster risk potential and vulnerable populations, aiming at providing necessary supplies to local populations for disaster awareness and response.