Mexico’s 2025 Drill to Alert 80M Phones

MEXICO CITY — The Government of Mexico, through the National Civil Protection Coordination (CNPC) and the Agency for Digital Transformation and Telecommunications (ATDT), announced that for the first time, the Mass Alert System will reach the cell phones of 80 million users as part of the Second National Drill 2025, scheduled for Friday, September 19 at 12:00 hours.

The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, emphasized that the cell phone alert is of vital importance as it will allow the population, even in rural areas, to be warned and take precautions against natural phenomena such as earthquakes, which are not predictable.

“It is very important because the level of cell phone penetration, meaning the number of people who have a cell phone, is already very high in our country, even in rural areas. So, maybe you don't have an alarm near your house or the state system alarm didn't sound, but if you have a cell phone where you are alerted, you can take all the necessary precautions. So there is a lot of progress and we must continue working on it,” she commented during her morning press conference, “Las mañaneras del pueblo.”

She pointed out that it is important to continue advancing in prevention so that everyone knows what to do in the event of an earthquake.

“We must continue advancing in prevention, and these drills help us. They sometimes generate nervousness, concern, memories for those who lived through a sadly traumatic situation in an earthquake, but it is very important that they continue to exist, that they are carried out so that we all know what to do when such a situation comes,” she mentioned.

The National Coordinator of Civil Protection of the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, Laura Velázquez Alzúa, detailed that the Second National Drill will have the hypothesis of an 8.1 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter in Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán. Meanwhile, in Campeche, Yucatán, Sonora, Quintana Roo, and Baja California Sur, the drill will be for a hurricane; in Durango, Guanajuato, and Tamaulipas, for an urban fire; and in Baja California, for a tsunami.

She added that so far, more than 9 million participants and 125,858 buildings across the country have registered. She invited the population to register their participation and their buildings at https://preparados.gob.mx/.

She reported that the seismic alert signal will be transmitted through 14,491 loudspeakers, 100 commercial AM/FM radio stations, and 11 commercial TV stations. In addition to the alert that will reach 80 million mobile phone users in the country, Mexico becomes the fourth country to implement this system.

The head of the ATDT, José Antonio Peña Merino, explained that this alert can be activated in a specific polygon: a neighborhood, a town, a locality. In the case of the nationwide drill, it will be received on all devices simultaneously and immediately.

He indicated that the Mass Alert System was already tested on April 19 in the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico with 98% coverage.

He added that all phones have these types of notifications activated by default. However, for those who may not have them configured this way, they can call 079 or configure them on their devices as follows:

• Android: Settings, notifications, advanced settings, wireless emergency alerts, and activate the option.
• Apple: Settings, notifications, and at the bottom are the options that must be activated.