Air defense sirens to sound across Shanghai on September 16

Air defense sirens will be sounded out across the city on September 16 as part of activities of the National Defense Education Day, the city's national defense mobilization office said on Friday.

Residents in Shanghai, except in the areas of Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, will hear the alarms from 11:35am to 11:58am.

Three kinds of alarm can be heard in three-minute intervals – early warning, air defense siren and all-clear signal.

The related drills will be carried out by various departments such as districts, companies and schools on September 15 and 16.

Part of the Zhujiajiao Ancient Town and a residential area called Maofengyuan near the town in Qingpu District will be the key areas for the drill.

Water rescue will be practiced in the town and the waters in Qingpu, Wujiang District in Suzhou City and Jiashan County of Zhejiang Province near Shanghai.

During the drill, the fire brigades will isolate and dilute toxic gases and smoke. An air rescue drill will be carried out for trapped and injured people and skilled professionals will rush to repair basic living facilities, ensuring water, gas and electricity supplies.

The city's civil defense map, China's first of its kind released in 2021, will be updated with new functions – people can save nearby places like emergency shelters and mark their positions on the map for the convenience of rescue when disaster strikes.

The map can provide various information, including civil defense projects, civil defense education places, and emergency shelters as well as navigation services to these places. It can be seen on the Suishenban app, the city government's public service platform, and its mini program on WeChat and Alipay.

Many relevant exhibitions and activities will be held soon in universities, shopping malls, metro stations and trains, as well as on Yuanwang-1, China's first-generation aerospace survey ship which was retired in 2010.