颱風天放假與否，是各縣市政府根據《天然災害停止上班及上課作業辦法》，並參照中央氣象局對各縣市地區所預測或實測的風力和雨量來決定。當颱風警報發布後，社會大眾期待放假的預期心理，加上媒體報導效應，原本各縣市政府「災害應變中心」開設後所要關注的各項緊急應變工作，都變成不重要；民眾及學生只關心「颱風假」（是否停班及停課）的訊息。事實上，「颱風假」並不是我們一般所說的「假期」，而是政府衡量災害風險，給民眾多一層防災準備，以維護其生命和財產的安全。應將其正名為「防災假」。

When a typhoon is approaching, it is the responsibility of the County(City) Government to determine if a certain period of time of work and school is off following the guideline of ＂Operation Regulations on Suspension of Offices and Classes because of Natural Disasters＂ with the references of the latest wind/rainfall data offered by Central Weather Bureau (CWB). Whenever the typhoon warning is issued, the task of ＂Disaster Response Center＂ is often overwhelmed by the public's anticipation of the possible ＂HOLIDAY＂ coupled with the media coverage. As the matter of fact, ＂Typhoon Leave＂ is not a real holiday. The government makes this decision that the people can gain extra time to have better preparation for their lives and property. Instead of ＂Typhoon Leave＂, it is more appropriate to term it ＂Disaster Prevention Leave＂.