TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – People sought shelter at a supermarket in Tainan Thursday morning as if China had fired missiles at their city.
The effort formed part of what the government has dubbed “national solidarity month,” weeks of exercises including the annual Han Kuang 41 war games and civilians seeking refuge in air raid shelters.
Thursday’s simulation featured shoppers at a PX Mart supermarket panicking, quarreling, and fainting after sirens sounded the alarm, the Liberty Times reported. Staff practiced the evacuation of 15 customers, while they also had to try and calm down overexcited people who refused to head for a shelter — and apply CPR.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Interior and the National Police Agency and PX Mart executives attended the event. The government described the exercise as a positive example of cooperation with the public to achieve a higher degree of social resilience.
The involvement of supermarkets in air raid drills was first announced at a meeting of the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee at the Presidential Office last month. Urban resilience drills are meant to familiarize the public with the optimal response to emergency situations.
