Wanan air raid drill canceled for 2nd consecutive day due to typhoon

Taipei, July 24 (CNA) Taiwan's military on Wednesday announced the cancellation of the fourth day of its annual Wanan air raid drills, originally scheduled to be held in southern Taiwan on Thursday, due to Typhoon Gaemi.

The southern region -- comprising Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung County -- will not hold its drill on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. for half an hour, as had been originally planned, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said.

The cancellation also means that government will not send air defense drill text alerts to mobile phones in Taiwan's southern region, the MND added.

The decision marked the second consecutive day that the 47th annual Wanan Exercises have been called off.

Wednesday's drills, which were originally set to take place in eastern Taiwan as well as the nation's offshore islands, were also partially cancelled due to Typhoon Gaemi.

However, Monday and Tuesday's drills, held in central and northern Taiwan, were conducted as originally scheduled.

The Wanan Exercises are a series of emergency air raid drills that have been held every year nationwide since 1978 to raise public awareness of emergency response measures and test the emergency response capabilities of local authorities.

The 47th annual Wanan air raid drills were originally scheduled to take place from July 22-25, with different regions holding 30-minute drills on different days.

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