TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – After more than 1 million households lost power during Typhoon Danas, the government was considering burying more power cables underground to protect electricity distribution from natural disasters, reports said Saturday.

Excessive rain in late July caused 50,000 households to lose power and Typhoon Podul last week left 300,000 families without electricity, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said during a visit to Taitung Saturday. He said there should be an initial evaluation of the possibility of moving power cables underground on a nationwide scale, per CNA.

Once the evaluation completed, the government will draw up a timetable to realize the project, while in unsuitable areas, the cables will be strengthened to better withstand strong winds, which might include adjusting the distance between poles or rerouting the cables. Officials named the coastal regions of Chiayi, Tainan, and Yunlin as less suitable.

With power lines on outlying islands already underground, repair work in the wake of recent typhoons had been limited, Cho said. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and state-run utility Taiwan Power Company would soon start studying the possibilities, according to officials.