The coastal town of Quarteira is hosting a full-scale tsunami and earthquake simulation as part of the national awareness campaign ‘A Terra Treme’ (The Earth Shakes), marking the World Tsunami Awareness Day.
Scheduled for 11.05am this Wednesday (November 5), the exercise will begin with the activation of seven emergency sirens installed throughout the parish. The alert will signal the start of the drill, during which participants should follow evacuation routes to the nearest of the 13 designated meeting points. Once there, members of the municipal civil protection service will register everyone who takes part.
The goal is to involve as many people as possible while testing the town’s emergency systems and response protocols in case of a real disaster, the municipal council of Loulé says in a statement.
Drop, cover and hold on are the key safety steps suggested by authorities in the case of an earthquake before seeking routes to meeting points.
The event is part of Portugal’s National Strategy for Preventive Civil Protection 2030, which calls for all coastal municipalities to prepare tsunami evacuation plans and install clear signage marking safe routes.
The World Tsunami Awareness Day was established by the United Nations in 2015, inspired by the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which struck 14 countries and claimed around 230,000 lives.
