To find an air-raid shelter, use the air-raid evacuation and shelter section (防空疏散避難專區) of the National Police Agency (警政署) website under the Ministry of the Interior (adr.npa.gov.tw), or the same section in the mobile police service app (警政服務 App). Turn on location and you can see nearby shelters and get navigation; when you receive a national-level air-raid alert message, the message also includes this web address. Air-raid shelters are places to take cover nearby during an air raid. They are different from the evacuation and accommodation shelters (避難收容處所) that open for typhoons and earthquakes, which you look up with the fire and disaster prevention e-point app (消防防災 e 點通 App).
Reminder: the internet may be down when you really need it. Take screenshots of the shelters near your home, workplace and school now, or save an offline map. Do not take the elevator when an air-raid alarm sounds. The shelter list is updated, so go by the latest announcements from the National Police Agency and the all-out defense mobilization agency (全民防衛動員署) of the Ministry of National Defense (國防部).
5 ways to look up shelters
An explanation published by the Ministry of the Interior on April 2, 2025 says the National Police Agency has put more than 82,000 air-raid shelters across Taiwan online, with a total capacity of about 54 million people, and that they can be looked up through the police service app or the websites of police agencies at each level.
| Channel | How to use it | Notes |
|---|
| National Police Agency air-raid evacuation and shelter website (adr.npa.gov.tw) | Open the shelter map by county or city and district; the nearby-shelter map shows nearby locations once location is turned on | Nearby lookup is mainly for phones or tablets with mobile data, and you need to allow the browser to access your location |
| Police service app | Turn on location, download the app, tap the air-raid shelter section, choose a location, start navigation | Quick to check, share and navigate with; can also be combined with screenshots or an offline map |
| National-level alert message | The National Police Agency and the Ministry of National Defense work together so that air-raid alert messages include the shelter section web address, which locates you automatically when opened | The sample message in the manual reads "避難所: https://adr.npa.gov.tw/map" |
| Local police department websites | The air-raid evacuation and shelter section on the website of each special municipality, county or city police department (or precinct) | For Taipei and New Taipei, see the websites of the Taipei City and New Taipei City police departments |
| Government open data platform (data.gov.tw) | Some county and city police departments post lists of air-raid evacuation facilities | Suited to people who want to make their own map; fields and update frequency depend on each dataset |
The update date shown at the bottom of the National Police Agency shelter website is September 1, 2026 (checked on 2026-10-31 for this article). This article suggests that once you have found the nearest two or three shelters, you walk to them in person and note which side the entrance is on and whether it is open at night.
What air-raid shelter signs look like
According to the Ministry of the Interior, police departments in every special municipality, county and city have fully updated the air-raid shelter signs, which have 3 features:
- Large, brightly colored icons with Chinese and English text and directional guidance.
- They carry the logo of the police service app's air-raid shelter section, to make it easy to associate and remember.
- They are placed at the building's address plate or in a conspicuous spot.
The National Police Agency's guidance lists 4 principles for choosing where to shelter: underground is safer than above ground, indoors is safer than outdoors, stay away from outer walls and windows, and avoid dangerous items. So even in a building with no sign, you should move to a lower floor and toward the inside of the building when taking cover; but whether it is a listed air-raid shelter depends on the map lookup result.
How to tell the air-raid alarm sounds apart
The Ministry of National Defense's safety guide (《當危機來臨時：臺灣全民安全指引》, first edition September 21, 2025) states:
- Air-raid alarm: 1 long blast and 2 short blasts. The long blast lasts 15 seconds and each short blast 5 seconds, with 5 seconds between blasts, repeated 3 times, for 115 seconds in total.
- Air-raid alarm cleared: one long blast of 90 seconds.
- Tsunami warning (easy to confuse): sounds for 5 seconds, pauses for 5 seconds, sounds for 5 seconds, then a voice announcement is broadcast 2 times: "Tsunami warning, tsunami warning, all people please quickly evacuate to high ground." The all-clear is likewise one long blast of 90 seconds. For a tsunami you go inland and to high ground, which is the opposite of the air-raid advice to go low and underground.
Your phone also receives alert messages. For why some people receive them and some do not, see why some people get national-level alerts and others do not.
The alarm sounds and you cannot reach a shelter in time
| Situation | National Police Agency air-raid shelter guidance | Ministry of National Defense safety guide |
|---|
| Indoors | Stay away from windows and protect your head; move from a high floor to a lower floor | Go into a basement or a room farther from the windows; do not take the elevator, to avoid being trapped |
| Outdoors in a city (buildings nearby) | Get into the nearest building as quickly as possible | Go to a place with an air-raid shelter sign, or follow instructions |
| Open area | Take cover on the spot immediately and adopt the protective posture; you can use bridge piers, underpasses or culverts | Look for sturdy cover; if you cannot find any, lie down on the spot in a nearby low place |
| In a vehicle | If you can get out safely, get out and go into a building; if you cannot, lower your body below the car windows and protect your head | Pull over to the side, get out and take shelter indoors nearby |
Both official documents also teach the air-raid protective posture. The Ministry of National Defense's safety guide website says to sit against a wall indoors or lie down outdoors, with your back to the blast direction and your body slightly arched, covering your head with both hands and shielding your eyes and ears, mouth slightly open to equalize pressure. The National Police Agency guidance says to keep your body low, protect your head, turn your back to the blast and stay still until it is safe to move. Hold the posture until you hear the all-clear (one long blast of 90 seconds).
Air-raid shelters, evacuation and accommodation shelters, and relief stations
Under "things you can do right now", the Ministry of National Defense safety guide website lists two apps: the fire and disaster prevention e-point app shows the locations of evacuation and accommodation shelters, relief stations (救濟站) and supply distribution stations, and the police service app shows the locations of air-raid shelters. Both can receive real-time alert information.
| Air-raid shelter | Evacuation and accommodation shelter | Relief station |
|---|
| When it is used | Taking cover nearby during an air raid or air-raid alarm | When a natural disaster such as a typhoon or earthquake requires evacuation and temporary housing (summarized by this article) | After an air raid, if damage is severe, you go there as directed by rescue personnel |
| Where to look it up | Police service app, National Police Agency air-raid evacuation and shelter section | Fire and disaster prevention e-point app (offline map available) | Fire and disaster prevention e-point app |
| What it provides | Temporary cover until the alarm is cleared | Opened by local governments as needed | After you register your identity details, temporary living space, supplies, communication channels and psychological counseling resources |
For go-bags and typhoon day-off announcement (停班停課) lookups during natural disasters, see the typhoon and heavy rain self-rescue guide; to see current conditions in each area, you can use this site's real-time disaster map tool.
What to prepare ahead of time
- Save shelter locations: the National Police Agency suggests using phone screenshots or map markers to save the air-raid shelters near where you live and go, so you can still check them when the internet is down.
- Download the manual: the Ministry of National Defense's all-out defense mobilization agency offers the manual as a PDF download on its safety guide website (Chinese, English and Thai versions), covering supply preparation, disaster response, treating the injured and guarding against false information.
- Radio: the manual website says that in wartime, if the internet is lost, you can listen to radio stations for your area, or get information at a nearby police substation (派出所) or village or neighborhood office (村里辦公室); the frequencies listed for northern Taiwan are AM 1494, FM 94.3, FM 101.3, FM 104.9, FM 106.5, FM 100.1, FM 101.7 and FM 103.5.
- Agree with your family: this article suggests agreeing with your family in advance on which shelter or location to meet at if communications are cut; if you have elderly relatives or pets at home, allow extra time for those who move slowly.
For when to call each number, see what 110, 119, 112, 113, 165 and 1955 are for.
FAQ
Does the underground parking garage in my building count as an air-raid shelter?
Not necessarily. Whether it is a listed air-raid shelter should be checked on the map in the police service app or at adr.npa.gov.tw. If you cannot reach a shelter in time, the National Police Agency's principles are that underground is safer than above ground and indoors is safer than outdoors, so take cover nearby, low down and away from windows.
Can I still look them up without internet?
The website and the app both need an internet connection to find your location. The National Police Agency and the Ministry of the Interior both suggest taking screenshots or saving a Google offline map beforehand; the fire and disaster prevention e-point app can give shelter locations in an offline map (as described in the Ministry of National Defense manual).
How do I tell the air-raid alarm from the tsunami alarm?
The air-raid alarm is 1 long and 2 short blasts (long 15 seconds, short 5 seconds), repeated 3 times for 115 seconds in total; the tsunami alarm sounds for 5 seconds, pauses for 5 seconds, sounds for 5 seconds, then adds a voice announcement. The all-clear for both is one long blast of 90 seconds.
Are air-raid shelters the same as the shelters used during typhoons?
No. Air-raid shelters are for taking cover nearby during an air raid, and you look them up in the police service app; the shelters opened for evacuation during typhoons, earthquakes and similar disasters are evacuation and accommodation shelters, which you look up in the fire and disaster prevention e-point app.
Last updated: 2026-10-31
This article was compiled by SOSfix editors from public information and is for general reference only. For individual cases, contact the civil defense command and control office (民防指揮管制所) of the National Police Agency (02-2934-9940) or your local police department; for questions about all-out defense, contact the Ministry of National Defense's all-out defense mobilization agency.
Sources
- National Police Agency, Ministry of the Interior: air-raid evacuation and shelter section (防空疏散避難專區; page update date September 1, 2026; verified 2026-10-31) (in Chinese): shelter maps by county and district, nearby-shelter map needing location, saving screenshots in advance, responses indoors, outdoors and in vehicles when an alarm sounds, 4 principles for choosing shelter, protective posture, civil defense command and control office switchboard.
- Ministry of the Interior: improved air-raid shelter signs and the police service app air-raid shelter section (提升防空避難標示及「警政服務APP-防空避難專區」報你知！; published 2025-04-02, verified 2026-10-31) (in Chinese): 3 features of the signs, more than 82,000 shelters with capacity for about 54 million people, 5-step app lookup, screenshots or offline maps, police department website sections, national-level alert messages with web address.
- Ministry of National Defense, all-out defense mobilization agency: Taiwan public safety guide, disaster response (臺灣全民安全指引 災害應對; verified 2026-10-31) (in Chinese): principles for air-raid response, ways to take shelter indoors, in vehicles and outdoors, protective posture, all-clear of one long 90-second blast, function of relief stations, listening to radio and frequencies by region when the internet is lost.
- Ministry of National Defense, all-out defense mobilization agency: Taiwan public safety guide website (當危機來臨時－臺灣全民安全指引網站; verified 2026-10-31) (in Chinese): the fire and disaster prevention e-point app shows evacuation and accommodation shelters, relief stations and supply distribution stations; the police service app shows air-raid shelters.
- Ministry of National Defense, all-out defense mobilization agency: Taiwan public safety guide PDF (當危機來臨時：臺灣全民安全指引 PDF; first edition September 21, 2025, verified 2026-10-31) (in Chinese): air-raid alarm of 1 long and 2 short blasts for 115 seconds in total, all-clear of one long 90-second blast, tsunami warning pattern, sample alert message with shelter web address, offline map in the e-point app.
- Ministry of National Defense, all-out defense mobilization agency: download the manual PDF (下載手冊 PDF; verified 2026-10-31) (in Chinese): PDF offered in Chinese, English and Thai versions.
- Government open data platform: Miaoli County Police Department list of air-raid evacuation facilities (苗栗縣警察局防空疏散避難設施位置清冊; verified 2026-10-31) (in Chinese): an example of a county or city police department posting a list of air-raid evacuation facilities.
