Taipei: For the first time ever, people shopping at supermarkets or convenience stores in certain townships and districts across Taiwan will be required to go to their nearest air raid shelter or basement during nationwide air raid drills from July 15-18, a defense official said Tuesday. Formerly known as the Wan An exercise, the air raid drills are now part of the “Urban Resilience Exercise,” which also incorporates the Min An disaster prevention and rescue exercise and has been conducted in phases since April.
According to Focus Taiwan, each local government has designated three townships or districts as “key verification zones” for the air raid drills, Chu Sen-tsuen, director-general of the All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency, informed during a news conference at the Ministry of National Defense. For example, in Taipei, the zones are Zhongshan, Songshan, and Zhongzheng districts.
“In the key verification zones, local governments should make sure people use air raid shelters, placing an emphasis on public transportation, places for shopping, agencies, and institutions,” Chu said. “The stores in this year’s key verification zones — for example, Carrefour or RT Mart — need to guide customers to the basement. Stores that do not have a basement will have to guide customers to a nearby basement or other structurally sound places,” Chu added after the news conference.
When asked whether convenience stores will also have to assist customers to take shelter, Chu confirmed they will. This marks a deviation from past Wan An exercises, where pedestrians often entered their nearest convenience stores when the sirens sounded without taking further precautions.
“It should be noted that commercial activities at the stores in the key verification zones will be suspended,” Chu stated. The staff, owner, or, if applicable, “civil defense team” at markets or stores will be responsible for evacuating and guiding customers to safety.
While such evacuation plans have existed for past exercises, they will be enforced and tested for the first time in the upcoming drills. People who refuse to follow guidance to evacuate face a fine of NT$30,000 (US$1,026) to NT$150,000 under the Civil Defense Act.