National Earthquake Drill on Sept. 19 to Simulate 5 Scenarios, Including Magnitude 7 in Quintana Roo

Mexico City — Mexico will hold its annual national earthquake drill on Saturday, Sept. 19, at noon, with five simulated seismic scenarios of varying magnitudes, officials announced Tuesday.

Laura Velázquez Alzúa, head of the National Coordination of Civil Protection (CNPC), said the exercise aims to strengthen preparedness, coordination and response capacity among federal, state and municipal authorities, while encouraging public participation to reduce disaster risk.

“This preventive exercise is designed to improve coordination and response capacity across all three levels of government and to promote public participation in reducing disaster-related risks,” she said at a press conference.

The scenarios include:

• Central region: A magnitude 7.7 quake with epicenter in Tehuacán, Puebla, involving Mexico City and the states of Colima, Estado de México, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Puebla, Querétaro, Tlaxcala and Veracruz.
• Northwest: A magnitude 7.1 quake with epicenter in Mexicali, Baja California, involving Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Sonora and Sinaloa.
• Northeast: A magnitude 5.2 quake with epicenter in Ciudad de Allende, Nuevo León, involving Aguascalientes, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas.
• Yucatán Peninsula: A magnitude 7 quake with epicenter in Cabo Catoche, Quintana Roo, involving Quintana Roo, Campeche and Yucatán.