On the morning of September 21, TKU held an earthquake disaster prevention drill at the TKU Tamsui Campus. For most of the university, the drill involved on-the-spot instruction on what to do in the case of an earthquake; while the College of Liberal Arts held a practice evacuation exercise, in which all faculty, staff and students from the College were led out of the building by assigned personnel and into the adjacent parking lot.

The drill began at 9:10 am. After entering their classrooms, students were shown an instructional video, which explained exactly what steps to take if an earthquake occurs while in class, in a laboratory, or in a lift. It described the importance of remaining calm and outlined the three “musts” in an earthquake situation: 1. Get down low; 2. Find cover; and 3. Remain steady. After the conclusion of the videos, an emergency message was broadcast over the TKU loudspeaker system: “earthquake, earthquake; all students and staff must carry out disaster prevention measures”. Students and staff then proceeded to do so based on the steps outlined in the instructional video. They held school bags or books above their heads and ducked under classroom tables or stood next to sturdy concrete pillars.

The Director of the Office of Military Education and Training, Chen Guo-Liang, praised the efforts of all students and teachers that took part in the exercise and the evacuation drill. He noted that “fleeing from danger is an instinctive response; but to evacuate quickly and safely is something that takes practice and was the aim of today’s drill”.