President Ma Ying-jeou instructed the Executive Yuan Monday to revise existing regulations and build new ones covering outdoor activities to ensure the safety of the public, particularly during typhoon and flood seasons. Ma, who doubles as chairman of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), said during a KMT meeting that the Executive Yuan should come up with regulations that restrict outdoor activities in times of typhoon or flood to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on rescue or disaster prevention resources, according to Su Jun-pin, director of the KMT's Culture and Communications Committee. The president instructed the Executive Yuan to work with the Ministry of the Interior, the National Fire Administration and the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) and to jointly come up with relevant policies to dissuade people from going outdoors during typhoons or when there is a threat of flooding, according to Su. Ma issued the instructions after learning that a man, a river tracing guide, fell to his death in eastern Hualien County over the weekend while trying to escort his clients to safety after the river rose suddenly, while 26 people in 11 cars were stranded on an island in a river in the northeastern county of Yilan Sunday. In related news, meanwhile, the CWB issued a warning for people in eastern and northeastern Taiwan Monday, warning residents in Hualien and Yilan counties to take precautions against torrential rain as the island came under the influence of the outer rim of Typhoon Megi, in addition to strong seasonal northeasterly winds. 