TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – When a national emergency alert goes off in Taiwan on Friday (Sept. 20) at 9:21 a.m., students at all schools across the country will seek protection under their desks and later evacuate their classrooms.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said it will hold a nationwide simulation of a response to a magnitude 7.3 earthquake hitting the southern county of Chiayi on Friday. The event comes the day before the 25th anniversary of the 921 earthquake, which killed 2,400 people after hitting Nantou County on Sept. 21, 1999.
Loudspeakers at the nation’s primary and secondary schools will call on students to protect themselves inside the classroom, per UDN. Once the alert is over, teachers will guide the students outside along set routes to gather on the school’s athletic field, where the number of students will be counted and shocked pupils will receive counseling.
The National Experimental High School at Central Taiwan Science Park has been selected to function as a model, with rehearsals for the evacuation drills taking place on Sept. 6 and on Wednesday (Sept. 18). A video recording of the exercises will be provided to other schools as an example of how to respond to disasters.
Disaster drills have become an important annual event, familiarizing teachers and students with the correct way to respond, according to the school principal.
