The first of three nationwide earthquake drills planned for 2020 will be carried out at 11:00am on Monday.

The Civil Protection agencies of various states have met in recent weeks to coordinate the event, and ask the public to participate in the exercise in order to be better prepared for the real thing.

The seismic alarm will sound at 11:00am in Mexico City after a message stating that it is just a drill, which in central Mexico will be based on the hypothetical conditions of a magnitude-7 quake with an epicenter in Acambay, México state.

Mexico City Civil Protection officials said evacuation operations and internal protocols will be initiated after the alarm sounds.

The drill will be conducted by 22,000 police officers, 60 paramedics and over 30 search and rescue personnel with the support of 20 motorcycle patrols, 12 ambulances and four special rescue units.

The Mexico City Metro will participate in the drill, but service will not be interrupted, authorities said.

The transportation system said in a press release that it has an action protocol for earthquakes, in which all departments “work in a strategic, coordinated and ordered manner with the objective of safeguarding the physical integrity of users and workers.”

In México state, which is not equipped with the seismic alert system used in Mexico City, the alarm will sound from the speakers of the C5 security systems in 20 municipalities.

Mexico is located in one of the most seismically active regions in the world. The Pacific, Cocos, Caribbean, North American and Rivera tectonic plates all interact in the area and cause frequent seismic activity.

Source: El Universal (sp)