Police secure an emergency lane in the southeastern port city of Busan on Aug. 22, 2024, as a nationwide civil defense evacuation drill is conducted across the city. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — An air-raid siren will be sounded on Wednesday, restricting people’s outdoor movement as part of a nationwide civil defense drill this week, officials said Tuesday.
The 20-minute drill, slated for 2 p.m. Wednesday, will include civil evacuation training and traffic restrictions in an air raid attack scenario, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety.
When the mock air raid warning siren goes off at 2 p.m., outdoor movement will be restricted nationwide for 15 minutes, and people will be required to evacuate to the nearest shelters.
Restrictions on outdoor movement will be lifted at 2:15 p.m. with an alert warning. All restrictions will be removed and people can go back to their normal routines at 2:20 p.m., when the warning is completely lifted.
This year’s four-day exercise, which began Monday, will focus on ensuring emergency passageway for fire trucks and ambulances. Drivers are required to turn on hazard lights, slow down and yield the right of way when fire trucks and ambulances approach.
Hospitals, subways, airlines and ships will operate as normal on the day of the drill to minimize public inconvenience.
Some 17,000 locations, including apartment building basements, subway stations and underground shopping areas, have been designated as shelters, the ministry said.
The locations of the shelters are available at the National Disaster and Safety portal and Naver, as well as in five languages — English, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Thai — on the Emergency Ready App.
(Yonhap)
