Taipei City Fire Department Disaster Prevention Science Education Center Introduction
In light of the Great Hanshin Earthquake that struck Japan on January 17, 1995, with a magnitude of 7.2, resulting in 6,430 deaths and over 40,000 injuries, as well as more than 510,000 houses fully or partially destroyed, and an estimated loss of around 10 trillion yen including public facilities, it became the second worst natural disaster in Japan after the Ise Bay Typhoon in the post-war era. Consequently, on July 10 of the same year (84th year of the Republic of China), the Taipei City Fire Department was restructured, aiming to enhance disaster prevention education for citizens and allow them to experience disasters firsthand, thereby understanding the importance of disaster prevention. The planning was initiated to establish Taiwan's first Disaster Prevention Science Education Center. To aid citizens in understanding the history and characteristics of various disasters, the Disaster Prevention Science Education of the Taipei City Fire Department employs computers, electronic, and mechanical equipment to simulate various disaster scenarios, allowing citizens to experience hands-on operation. This integrates emergency response knowledge such as fire safety, flood control, earthquake preparedness, and typhoon evacuation into daily life in an entertaining and educational way, thus enhancing citizens' disaster response capabilities. It is hoped that after visiting and experiencing the center, participants can share the disaster prevention knowledge and skills they acquire with friends and family, helping everyone stay safe from disaster threats.
