21. Comprehensive Impact and Defensive Measures for Typhoon Disasters: A Case Study of Typhoon Morakot

Typhoon disasters are a global issue. With the continuously improving economic development of Mainland China, a comprehensive impact, resulting from development, has been exerted on coastal areas, particularly that of Guangdong Province. Through a comprehensive analysis of the impact of typhoon Morakot on the Taiwan region, and through a similar analysis of the emergency measures taken by the regional government of Taiwan, plus that of Mainland China and, as well, taking into consideration the pros and cons of these measures, this paper tries to draw upon the defensive experience of the typhoon disaster relief programs that might be suitable for Guangdong Province. Results of the follow-up studies show that, as a typhoon-prone province, Guangdong Province can gain some insights and, perhaps, even inspiration from the emergency measures related to Typhoon Morakot. Drawing on experiences from Typhoon Morakot, Guangdong Province should establish a comprehensive, three-dimensional typhoon disaster defensive system, including pre-disaster, during-disaster and post-disaster measures, namely pre-disaster preventative and damage-reduction systems, in-disaster crisis management systems and post-disaster loss evaluation and compensation systems.