Taiwan welcomed and accepted assistance from a Turkish drone team, the representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Mission, Volkan Chih-Yang Huang, said that after a magnitude 7.4 quake hit the island on April 3, more than 1,100 people were injured.
"Since the capability of domestic drone equipment was not sufficient to conduct complicated and challenging search-and-rescue operations in Hualien County's Taroko Gorge, Taiwan welcomed and accepted assistance from a Turkish drone team after emergent and comprehensive discussions on drone operation regulations," Chih-Yang told Daily Sabah.
He highlighted that although Taiwan has a remarkable reputation as a global high-tech powerhouse, the development of advanced drone capabilities and operation experiences, especially in disaster relief, are still limited.
The FLY BVLOS company, which is in charge of the Turkish Civil Aviation Authority licensed International Disaster UAV Test Center and Air campus project, has dispatched top experts with some drone-related equipment rushed over 8,000 kilometers to Taiwan away after the acceptance of Taiwan's authority the representative said.
The toll earthquake rose to 16 on Wednesday, officials said, adding that three people remain missing in the Shakadang Trail, including two Singaporean Australians.
The earthquake was the most serious in Taiwan since a magnitude 7.6 quake hit the island in 1999. The death toll from that quake reached 2,400, making it the deadliest natural disaster in the island's history.
"A joint team formed by Turkish experts and Taiwan's GEOSAT Aerospace & Technology arrived at the Hualien Forward Command Post," Chih-Yang said. They conducted aerial reconnaissance along the seriously damaged Shakadang trail and Highway No. 8 of the Central Cross-island Highway, utilizing overlapping image technology to construct 3D models depicting the terrain of the disaster area and searching for missing victims."
He explained that these models were then provided to the Central Emergency Operation Center, Hualien County Disaster Response Center, Forward Command Post, and the Civil Engineer Association for further analysis and assessment of overall damage and reconstruction, underlining that the reconnaissance results will also serve as a reference for future disaster relief efforts in Taiwan.
Taiwan similarly urged to help Türkiye after twin earthquakes hit the country's southeastern regions last year, killing around 50,000 people and damaging whole cities.
"In addition to the ten earthquake relief humanitarian aid projects to Türkiye since February 2023, we are also discussing future cooperation and exchanges on disaster prevention with local municipal governments and relevant nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in potential earthquake areas in Türkiye," Chih-Yang highlighted.
"It is also planned to combine drone technology to improve adaptability and resilience in the face of natural disasters such as earthquakes. On the other hand, we are promoting disaster relief experience exchange between the Turkish NGO Search and Rescue Association (AKUT) and our search and rescue institutions so we can learn from each other and improve capabilities in urgent response and cooperation toward international disaster assistance," he added.
Twenty-five years after the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake, Taiwan once again experienced a magnitude 7.2 earthquake. Although, fortunately, the epicenter was not in a densely populated urban area, the earthquake still caused serious damage.
"Natural disasters cannot be completely avoided," the representative underlined. "Taiwan has improved building structure standards with regulations and strictly enforced them. The public has developed habits and awareness of earthquake response, and the latest technology has been continuously used to improve the efficiency of disaster prevention and relief. These are all important factors in damage control."
The difference in death tolls unfurls the vast gap that Ankara has to fill in earthquake preparedness.
Strict building codes and widespread disaster readiness were credited with averting a bigger catastrophe in Taiwan.
He said that Taiwan is always ready to share its experiences and plans with friends in Türkiye and looks forward to "working with Ankara to exert greater disaster prevention and relief capabilities with better preparation in the coming days."
Taiwan's preparedness comes from better buildings, early warning systems, education campaigns and well-honed rescue operations.
After 1999, Taiwan's authorities updated building standards to make new structures more quake-resistant. For those roughly 4 million houses built at least 30 years old, the government has also introduced subsidies to be inspected and upgraded.
The nationwide mobile alerts and seismic sensors throughout the country can potentially provide precious seconds of warning of incoming strong shaking so that people have time to take cover to protect themselves from falling objects.
