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Mexico’s First National Earthquake Drill Draws 37 Million as Alert Systems Largely Succeed

Officials cast the exercise as a nationwide stress test of warning systems.

Overview

  • The coordinated drill, held Thursday at 11 a.m., simulated a magnitude 8.2 quake northwest of Acapulco.
  • Authorities reported more than 37 million participants nationwide and 8,610,519 in Mexico City.
  • Mexico City averaged 1 minute 48 seconds to clear buildings, with 30,753 sites registered for the exercise.
  • Warning tools performed strongly, with 98.75% of loudspeakers working and cell-phone alerts above 95% effectiveness, as agencies push for full coverage after a recent outage drew scrutiny.
  • Agencies ran complex scenarios and reported few mishaps, evacuating 21,981 at the capital’s courts, clearing Mérida’s center in 2 minutes 43 seconds, and logging four to six minor injuries plus a non-injury drone fall in the capital’s main square.