August 19 is the date, the day for the first ever National Earthquake Simulation in Costa Rica. The drill, organized by the Nacional de Emergencias (CNE) will be at 10 am with more than a million people participating.
“There have been many regional, cantonal, and local drills, but this is the first at a national level,” said Lidier Esquivel, head of research and risk analysis at the CNE.
Under the slogan “Costa Rica Se Prepara” (Costa Rica Prepares), it is expected at wherever one may be, on that date and time, be it at the office, at home, the local ‘soda’ (eating place), people will move to a designated meeting point as if there were really an earthquake.
More: Is Costa Rica Prepared For A Major Earthquake?
Costa Rica is country prone to tremors. There are an average of 350 quakes a month, some 12 a day. Most go unnoticed, a few remind us well of the power of nature.
This simulation is being carried out within the framework of the 50th anniversary of the existence of the CNE and is intended to be an inclusive exercise that includes people with disabilities, the elderly, including even pets.
For the president of the CNE, Alexander Solis, this exercise allows strengthening the response capabilities and provides the population with tools to incorporate in their daily lives very simple actions and in the moment of a real emergency, and know how to apply the knowledge.
Approximately one million people from all over the country and different sectors expected to participate.
More information on the ‘simulacro’ is available at www.simulacro.cr.
How can you participate?
