A national earthquake drill will be carried out on Wednesday, May 19

The National Civil Protection Coordination ( CNPC ) reported that on Wednesday, May 19th, a macro-simulation will be held that will begin at 11:30 am. It will be at the national level and the objective is to promote and reinforce action protocols in the event of an earthquake or disaster.

The drill was announced during a virtual conference held on Monday, where the authorities of the agency confirmed that the First National Sinaproc-Mexico 2021 Real Estate Evacuation Drill will take place on that day.

Oscar Zepeda, director of the National Center for Disaster Prevention ( Cenapred ) stressed that the drill will serve to remind us, even with the pandemic, there is a risk that an earthquake may occur, so we must be prepared. In addition, he reiterated that all 32 states of Mexico, as well as municipalities and mayors, will participate in the macro-simulation.

“The simulation exercise will be at 11:30 am Central Mexico time, please follow the social networks of Facebook and Twitter, to stay informed about the schedules in your locality,” Civil Protection requested.

However, since not all states are exposed to earthquakes, the agency called on the authorities to propose hypotheses based on their respective risk schemes identified for each area, according to its location.

The yearly drills had been suspended throughout the country due to a health emergency due to COVID-19.

The last one that was carried out was in January 2020, since the one that takes place every year on September 19 – the date of the 1985 and 2017 earthquakes – was suspended due to the pandemic.

What are the earthquake drills?

Drills are tests that allow you to identify what to do and how to act in the event of an emergency, by simulating real scenarios. During an emergency, you must have a proven response on how to deal with it.

National Civil Protection suggests doing a drill every month at different times and days of the week, which allows you to face different conditions or circumstances of daily dynamics.

To do this, they recommend taking into account the location and who is nearby, since if there are older adults or people with disabilities, it is important to know if it is necessary to evacuate or not. In case of evacuation, you have to take time and know the routes.

Source: Excelsior