Gaps have emerged in Chiayi County's emergency shelter preparations — bad news for residents who could face a large-scale windstorm or earthquake disaster.

• Of the county's 382 evacuation shelters, 86 medium-term shelters lack sufficient space, and a number of temporary and short-term shelters are also inadequate.
• Eleven township and city offices have yet to sign shelter agreements with hotel operators, meaning they may be unable to accommodate everyone if a major disaster actually strikes.
• The disaster-prevention coordination centres in Xikou, Yizhu, Puzi and Fanlu have no participation from civic groups, disaster-prevention specialists or resilient communities, leaving them without backup manpower.
• The Fire Bureau's staffing shortfall has widened despite recruitment efforts, growing to 91 vacancies last year; as a result, personnel funds went unspent, which in turn dragged down budget execution.
• The Fire Bureau says it has planned six cross-agency meetings and is studying alternative sites and cross-district shelter support.

Outlook: The county government plans to expand shelter capacity step by step and guide the remaining townships towards signing agreements, but the staffing shortfall will be hard to resolve in the short term.