The Municipal Civil Protection Service of Portimão participated this Wednesday in the international exercise "NeamWave21", of simulation and response to a tsunami, «which had as main objective to test the readiness of this warning system».
The Portimão Chamber joined the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority and the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere, as well as other entities throughout the national territory, «to test the communication procedures to be implemented after the arrival of the message. tsunami warning signs'.
The fictitious scenario drawn centered on the occurrence of an earthquake recorded at 09:07 am, whose epicenter was located near the Moroccan sea, with a magnitude of 8.6 on the Richter scale and a depth of 27 kilometers.
"As a result, the Municipal Civil Protection Emergency Plan of Portimão was tested by sector, as well as the warning system to the population inherent to the occurrence, which would hypothetically result in 924 fatalities, 3089 displaced and 9506 homes destroyed, among other material damages considerable”, describes the municipality of Portimo.
“According to the need to relocate the affected people, using 58 buses for this purpose, itineraries were drawn up for the ZCAP – Population Concentration and Support Zones, one in each parish of Portimão, and even to temporary accommodation places, located in eight hotel units in the municipality», he added.
And, considering that this was a simulacrum, in which everything was done as it would be in a real situation, Isilda Gomes, mayor, assumed «the political direction of emergency management, as a municipal civil protection authority, in close articulation with the Municipal Command Post, headed by the respective coordinator and which operated at the Fire Department of Portimão, where the entire decision process led to actions considered essential for a timely response and assistance to the population, given the different situations presented».
In the end, the assessment made after the meeting with all the stakeholders was “positive”.
«The experience will allow us to improve the procedures and tested mechanisms, to correct and adjust them, creating capacities and automating processes, especially since the municipality of Portimo is reviewing its Municipal Civil Protection Emergency Plan. This learning moment will make it possible to incorporate corrective measures in the new content, which will soon be submitted to public consultation», said the Chamber of Portimão.
Portimão, recalled the municipality, has been implementing, since 2018, «an innovative and robust system of warning the population about the risk of tsunami, at a municipal level, through a network of sirens installed in the coastal and riverside areas, as well as a plan of evacuation from the areas of greatest risk, with safe meeting points defined for the reception of people».
The “NeamWave21” exercise is precisely the result of the early warning system for the North Atlantic, Mediterranean and Related Seas Region (NEAMTWS Region), which was created by a working group created by UNESCO, following the tsunami that occurred in the Indian Ocean in 2004.
In this group, there are representatives from Portugal, Germany, Bulgaria, Croatia, Egypt, Spain, Finland, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, Monaco, Norway, Romania, Tunisia and Turkey.
In Portimão, in addition to the SMPC, members of the Municipal Operational Coordination Center participated in the simulation, namely the Maritime Authority, Firefighters, Portuguese Red Cross, GNR, PSP and PJ.
«Conducted in CommandPostExercice format and lasting eight hours, NeamWave21" also had the technical support of the different organic units of the Municipality of Portimão relevant to the events in progress, in addition to EMARP – Municipal Water and Waste Company of Portimão », concludes the Chamber of Portimão.
Photos: Portimão Chamber
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