Taipei, Nov. 14 (CNA) Post-disaster recovery has been a learning process for every country, so sharing experience in emergency preparedness is key, international experts said Tuesday in a workshop.
Countries throughout the world have made mitigation of natural disasters and maintaining social stability a top priority after a series of natural disasters in recent years, said Vice Premier Tsai Ing-wen at the opening ceremony of the International Workshop on Disaster Recovery and Rescue.
Taiwan has a lot to share -- as well as learn from the experience of other countries -- after its own experience of the 921 Chi-chi earthquake in 1999, when it began the process of building its own process for post-disaster recovery from scratch, Tsai added.
Experts from eight countries -- including Finland, France, Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Italy, the U.S. and Taiwan -- will discuss post-disaster recovery experiences for several events -- the South Asia tsunami in 2004, Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. in 2005 and earthquakes in Taiwan, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Niigata-Chuetsu, Japan.
In a speech, former education minister Huang Jung-tsun, who now serves as president of China Medical University, made several observations concerning the post-921 earthquake recovery process.
After the disaster occurred, the government and disaster relief agency had to learn to make snap decisions in a situation of uncertainty, Huang said. Taiwan has learned other valuable lessons along the way.
Looking back, he said, a special budget with an emphasis on housing and better management of donations were needed. Also, policy should be improved for more effective emergency response efforts, he said.
Governments should also pay attention to post-disaster psychosocial assistance and services, said Veli-Pekka Ihamaki, who works for the Department for Rescue Services in Espoo District, Finland. Ihamaki added that today, new forms of media -- such as blogs, Web sites, online discussion forums, email, SMS texting -- should be integrated in the rescue and recovery system.
The two-day international workshop was co-organized by the National Disaster Prevention and Protection Commission and the National Rescue Command Center.
The philanthropic Tsu Chi Foundation, which has devoted itself to carrying out many rescue and recovery efforts after the 921 earthquake and South Asia tsunami, will also share its experience with global experts at the workshop.