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Taipei, May 27 (CNA) A section of road in Taipei will be closed for hours on June 4, while all pedestrian and vehicular traffic in the city will come to a halt for 30 minutes, as part of an annual air raid drill, the city government said Sunday.

The drill, codenamed Wan An No. 41, will be held between 1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. on June 4 in Taipei and several other cities and counties in northern Taiwan.

During the 30-minute period, all road traffic will come to a standstill and pedestrians will be required to get off the streets, the city government said.

However, the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit and the Maokong Gondola systems will run as usual but passengers will not be allowed to exit the stations onto the streets during the drill, according to Taipei Rapid Transit Corp. (TRTC).

Meanwhile, to facilitate exercises to test the city's emergency responses, the section of Hangzhou South Road between Renai and Xinyi roads will be closed from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 31, June 1 and June 4, Taipei's Transportation Department said.

On those three days, no vehicles will be allowed onto the specified section of Hangzhou South Road during the 5.5-hour period and parking lots in the area will also be cleared, the department said.

Violation of the rules and regulations pertaining to the annual Wan An No. 41 exercises will result in a fine of between NT$30,000 (US$1,020) and NT$150,000, the city government said, citing Article 25 of the Civil Defense Act.

(By Liang Pei-chi and Evelyn Kao)
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