Kaohsiung: The streets of Kaohsiung were deserted as residents took cover during an air-raid alert on the second day of urban resilience exercises, which were held in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County on Wednesday. These exercises featured air-raid drills, evacuation exercises, and disaster response training.

According to Focus Taiwan, after the siren sounded in Kaohsiung at 1:30 pm, citywide traffic controls and evacuation measures were implemented. The streets were cleared with residents directed to evacuation locations. During the half-hour air-raid alert, all outdoor residents were required to go to the nearest building or shelter. Drivers were instructed to park their cars on the side of the road and do the same.

During the drills, buses had to pull over to allow passengers to evacuate into buildings or shelters. Although metro trains continued operating, passengers in stations were required to follow police instructions to exit safely. Part of the annual Han Kuang military drills, which entered its eighth day on Wednesday, ground force troops positioned an Avenger missile system battery in a park in New Taipei. According to the Ministry of National Defense, the 10-day, nine-night Han Kuang exercises running through July 18 are twice as long as previous live-fire drills, which typically lasted five days and four nights.

Since 1984, the annual Han Kuang exercises have served as Taiwan’s major war games, combining live-fire drills and computerized tabletop simulations to test combat readiness against a possible Chinese invasion. As part of the drill in Taoyuan, personnel from the Longtan Combined Maintenance Depot under the 3rd Regional Support Command lifted the engine cover of a tank and replaced a fan, completing repairs in about 30 minutes.