Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
The Andalucía region carried out the largest ever tsunami drill in Spain on 20 November in Cadiz province. The operation involved more than 20,000 participants, including 1,000 emergency personnel from over 40 different services. This emergency scenario was also rehearsed in 500 public buildings, 9 schools, 2 hotels, and a guesthouse located near the coast.
Antonio Sanz is the regional minister of health and emergency preparedness. He is also in charge of activating emergency plans for a tsunami.
Sanz explained that the operation began with the simulation, south-west from Cabo de Sanvicente, of an earthquake with the same magnitude as the Lisbon earthquake of 1755. The countdown began at 10am to prepare all of the safety and response actions for people and properties, as it would be in a realistic scenario.
Mass ES-Alert message
The Andalusian emergency agency conducted a test by sending a mass ES Alert message to all the mobile phones along the coast of Cadiz. This included information about the measures that would be taken and a warning to the effect that it was a practice.
The alert was an easy to understand text telling residents to go to a meeting point immediately or climb up to three floors. There was also a link that led to 112 action instructions. The regional minister announced that a meeting would be held next week to assess the operation.
Sanz stressed the importance of these exercises that inform people on how to react and how long they have before reaching a safe area. The regional minister stated that this simple action could “save many, many lives”.
Schools involved
Plaza de San Antonio was chosen for the meeting because it is close to La Caleta Beach. At these two places, 2,500 students were gathered.
A command post and integrated operational coordination center have been set up. From there, the entire system of care and coordination has been activated. This includes assessing the city’s response in the event of a tsunami. It also assesses the response time of emergency services, and the population, and the operation of sound systems for emergencies such as loudspeakers and bells.
Pemea (the chat-based message service that allows functionally disabled people such as the deaf to contact 112) was also a tool that was evaluated and tested. The officials also assessed vertical evacuation capability (moving to higher floors), and horizontal evacuation away form flood-prone areas. Participating were more than 500 public buildings and nine schools, as well as three hotels. The regional minister thanked everyone for their participation.
Collaboration
Antonio Sanz highlighted that the ministry of education of the region was responsible for raising the awareness of students about how to react in such situations. “Sowing the seeds of self-protection among them is important, because the children of today are going to save lives tomorrow, and education during emergencies will prevent risks both in the present and future.”
The operation also included exercises to safeguard cultural heritage, with the participation of Archivo Histórico Provincial, Biblioteca Provincial and Centro de Arqueología Subacuática y el Museo de Cádiz. The simulation was conducted at these institutions to test the handling and reception of artifacts and artworks that arrive from other centres in an emergency.
Warnings to surfers, rescues and forensic protocols were practiced at the beach of Santa María del Mar, while assessment of damage to buildings was carried out in Zona Franca.
