Rare wailing air raid sirens and mobile phone alerts calling for evacuations rattled residents of the South Korean capital, Seoul, early on Wednesday after North Korea launched what it said was a satellite. | Reuters
Then came a second mobile alert minutes later calling for an evacuation, which remained in place for at least 10 minutes until city said it had been sent in error.
Lee did not evacuate after seeing a television headline saying the alerts related to a North Korean space vehicle flying farther south, but she showed photographs of friends packing bags, readying to leave.Although residents of Seoul are used to living in the shadow of threats from their nuclear-armed neighbor, an element of complacency has crept in among many in the city about the risks and how to respond.
Some office workers in the Seoul’s central district said they had considered during their commute how to respond to the alarm, such as by withdrawing cash or hoarding water.“I understand it was a mistake, but even if it has to be simple, that alert message should have said what went on and where to go,” Kim Jong-hyun, 48, said on his way to work after dropping off his child at school.
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