Peru conducts nationwide drill simulating 8.8 magnitude earthquake

Peru's President Keiko Fujimori led a nationwide multi-hazard drill on Friday, the second this year, designed to test the population's and emergency authorities' readiness for diverse threats, including a potential magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Lima and the adjacent province of Callao. The drill simulated a large-scale seismic event, prompting thousands of Peruvians to evacuate their homes and workplaces at 3:00 PM local time.

Alarms sounded across mobile phones, sirens, horns, and whistles in public and private buildings, signaling participants to move to safety. Fujimori, along with Prime Minister Luis Galarreta, Lima Mayor Renzo Reggiardo, and the head of the National Civil Defense Institute (Indeci), Luis Enrique Vásquez, also participated by evacuating to Lima's Plaza de Armas. The exercise aimed to allow citizens, authorities, and institutions to practice emergency preparedness measures and test evacuation protocols and response capabilities.

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This exercise allows citizens, authorities, and institutions to put into practice the preparation measures foreseen for an emergency and also tests the evacuation protocols and response capacity of authorities.

In Lima and Callao, municipalities, schools, hospitals, and residential complexes practiced evacuating people to public spaces to simulate seeking safety during a major earthquake. Throughout the rest of the country, regional governments focused on the most recurrent dangers in their areas. The coastal district of La Punta in Callao specifically recreated an 8.8 magnitude earthquake followed by a tsunami, mirroring the 2007 earthquake and tsunami event in the Ica region. Indeci reminded citizens of the importance of having an emergency backpack with essential supplies, noting Peru's location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area prone to 80% of the world's seismic activity.

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It is necessary for each household to have an emergency backpack, which should include non-perishable food, a first-aid kit, warm clothing, hygiene items, money, and specific supplies for babies or the elderly.