COPC announces new hotline ‘113’

Crystal Fish 2023 typhoon drill

The Civil Protection Operation Center (COPC) has announced a new hotline dedicated to assisting citizens in civil protection-related incidents – 113 – will become operational on May 1.

The announcement was made on the sidelines of the civil protection major drill “Crystal Fish 2023” which, as usual, tested the operationality of all the forces and departments for incidents related to the incidence of a severe typhoon.

The COPC also said that the new hotline, “113,” has also seen phone communication expanded with 24 lines now available at the same time.

The drill, which took place Saturday, simulated a wide range of situations such as the transference of injured people, traffic accidents, and the fall of heavy objects, trees and debris, among others.

One of the main foci was also to test the operationality of the evacuation of residents from low-laying areas, in the event of an expected severe storm surge with serious flooding.

Several other types of incidents such as a fire on board a ship and search and rescue operations for people in cases of landslides were other situations put to the test.

At the end of the drill, the Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak, said that the drill went as expected and resulted in positive effects for both training and coordination of activities and interdepartmental cooperation.