A disaster prevention exercise drill was previously scheduled to be held in August, but was postponed to September due to the two typhoon alerts pronounced by the Central Weather Bureau in a row. It was raining heavily in the few days prior to the day of the drill. We were just worried about the condition of the mountain and whether the drill could be held as scheduled. The tropical storm finally departed on the day before the drill. The local administrative head, Hsiao-Cheng, led the residents to clean up the area. The recovery work was efficiently performed. In less than 1 day, life in Yisheng Li has resumed to normal.

The exercise drill was launched on a cool day but was warmed up by the enthusiasm of the participants. All residents eagerly took part in the drill. As the drill commenced, the tutor took the mudslide that occurred at the gasoline station a month ago as an example. In the video, a female employee shouted loudly to everyone, “big brothers, run, run, mudslide!” The use of real events reminds everyone that in the event of a disaster, anybody can make an effort to save people’s lives.

Then the tutor took up a map of Yisheng Li and asked the residents to point out the locations of their own homes and find out the route from their homes to the activity center. This helps to reinforce the memory of the residents of the route for evacuation in case of disaster. At the same time, the residents were reminded of the items contained in the safety pack during the disaster. Everyone has their own necessary items. The tutor explained the necessity of each item and suggested what to choose.

After the tutor explained everything about disaster prevention, the residents proceeded to action! Drills on a few scenarios were held before the coming of the disasters to remind the residents how to respond. In doing so, they will not get lost and panic when the disaster comes. This also helps to save precious time for rescue.

We have to help those who have problems with locomotion at the time of disaster. Neighbors should help one another and use all the available tools to transport those people to a safe place or shelter. This part required particular attention in the drill. In addition, there are some accredited Disaster Prevention Guard in the community. They may also practice the CPR skill and AED device learned from the training program and save the lives of those who are on the brink of death.

No one can avoid the occurrence of natural disaster, but we could work hard to survive in disaster and respond to any form of emergency without jeopardizing our safety. This exercise drill made the residents of the community understand that each neighbor’s effort is indispensable to saving the lives of others in the community at a time of disaster.