The Ministry of the Interior has allocated one billion NT dollars to establish an advanced emergency management information system, which will be based on the latest cloud computing technology. The project is expected to be completed by 2016.

Following Typhoon Morakot two years ago, Taiwan's emergency response systems came under scrutiny.

At the time, municipal centers were receiving more than 4,000 calls per hour, but there were only a maximum of 100 lines available at a time.

Currently, the island's emergency telephone line, 119, does not take messages or have callback functions.

During natural disasters, victims are often unable to get help.

According to the National Communications Commission, Taiwan lacks the resources to send out SMS warnings before earthquakes and tsunamis, and the government would have to negotiate with telecommunications providers to improve mobile phone functions and software and hardware installations.

The government has already allocated 1 billion NT for the development of cloud computing technology, and is working on integrating the technology into the national disaster response system.

Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah says that there is currently no timetable for implementation, and legislator Lai Shyh-bao is proposing an amendment that would charge telecom operators with providing free telephone, SMS, e-mail, and battery charging services to disaster areas in the future.