Cities across northern Taiwan ordered vehicles off roads and people to stay indoors yesterday for the annual Wanan air defense exercise.
Sirens sounded at 1:30pm for the mandatory street evacuation drills, which effectively shut towns and cities including the capital, Taipei, for 30 minutes.
An air raid alert, asking people to evacuate to safety immediately, was sent via text message.
Photo: CNA
“When you receive the text message, please be aware of the wordings such as ‘test’ and ‘drill’ and stay calm,” President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said in a reminder on Facebook about an hour before the exercise.
In the bustling shopping areas in Taipei’s Ximending (西門町), some shops pulled down their shutters and police directed passersby and vehicles, including food delivery drivers on motorcycles, to move to the side of the road and seek shelter.
Tourists with luggage were seen taking shelter in a subway station, some shocked and not sure what had happened.
Photo: Jameson Wu, AFP
“I heard the siren and I was worried, not knowing what happened, especially [as] we are foreigners in a foreign country,” said Lee Jang-ho, a tourist from South Korea.
Among the drills carried out by authorities in Taipei, some citizens were instructed to seek shelter in basement parking lots with their hands covering their eyes and ears while keeping their mouths open — to minimize the effect of blast waves from missiles.
Sirens sounded 30 minutes later to give the all-clear.
The 30-minute drill is to be carried out at the same time today in southern Taiwan, tomorrow in eastern Taiwan and outlying counties, and on Thursday in central Taiwan, the Ministry of National Defense said.
Motorists are reminded to follow instructions from police and not to contravene traffic rules during the exercise, or they could face a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$150,000 under Article 25 of the Civil Defense Act (民防法), the ministry said.
The air defense exercise this year is aimed at raising public awareness about emergency warnings, to reduce the possibility of casualties and damage if an attack occurs.
Additional reporting by CNA
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