By KHT Staff. Images via KH City Govt.
KAOHSIUNG — Kaohsiung held a citywide resilience drill on Friday to test how local agencies would respond during wartime, major disasters, or other complex emergencies.
The 2026 Urban Resilience and All-out Defense Mobilization Exercise was held in coordination with Han Kuang military exercise scenarios, the Kaohsiung City Government said.
The drill used tabletop exercises and field operations to test mobilization readiness, disaster response, and coordination between central government agencies, the city government, the military and civilian groups.
Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), Deputy Health Minister Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀), and Minister without Portfolio Chi Lien-cheng (季連成) observed parts of the exercise.
Hsiao said urban resilience drills are part of Taiwan’s broader national and whole-of-society defense planning. She said this year was the first time the urban resilience exercise was held in connection with Han Kuang drills.
She said the exercise was intended to test whether command systems, civilian support networks, and medical services could continue operating under pressure.
The city said drills were held in 12 administrative districts and at 10 critical infrastructure sites.
Exercise items included preventive evacuations, medical evacuation, expansion of medical capacity, joint transport command, disaster-response coordination centers, supply distribution, relief stations, and emergency aid stations.
Officials first visited the Kaohsiung Joint Emergency Response Command and Control Center to hear a briefing on command operations, resource allocation, and cross-agency coordination.
They then visited the Cianjhen District Office (前鎮區公所) disaster-response coordination center, where local officials demonstrated systems for large-scale evacuation, shelter operations, and supply distribution.
At Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, the exercise tested medical “load reduction” and the use of underground alternative medical spaces.
The hospital drill included activating a backup command center, setting up underground acute-care beds, intensive care beds and operating rooms, moving patients to underground wards, and responding to a mass-casualty scenario.
The city said the exercise was intended not only to confirm existing procedures, but also to identify weaknesses in planning, coordination, and execution for future improvement.
