EARTHQUAKES DON’T HAVE A SET TIME – PORTUGUESE PEOPLE SHOULD BE PREPARED SHOULD BE PREPARED
The Civil Protection risk management director today warned the Portuguese people about the importance of being prepared to act and adopt self-protective behaviours in the event of an earthquake, reminding them that Portugal is in an area of ”particular vulnerability”.
“It’s important to bear in mind that earthquakes don’t have a set time. They can happen at any moment. We could be talking now and a seismic event could occur in a few minutes. You never know when they might happen. There is no scientific capacity to predict the date and time of earthquakes. The only thing we can do is, knowing that we are in a particularly vulnerable area, be aware of this possibility and be prepared to react,” Carlos Mendes told Lusa.
During the public earthquake awareness exercise “The Earth Trembles,” organized by the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) on Thursday, the national director of risk prevention and management at ANEPC stated that it is essential to adopt self-protection measures during an earthquake and to be prepared for the minutes and hours following the earthquake.
According to the official, this preparation is essential to be able to function “as a collaborative agent” in the rescue efforts, helping family members and neighbours, and trying to avoid giving in to panic.
Carlos Mendes specified that the areas with the highest historical intensity of seismic risk are the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, the Tagus Valley, Alentejo, and the Algarve.
“It is there that large earthquakes have occurred with the most damaging consequences in the past. But in any case, a large earthquake will affect all of mainland Portugal, but what science indicates is that these regions are the areas potentially most affected,” he stressed.
Asked if Portugal is prepared for a major earthquake, he replied: “It’s often said, almost a cliché, that no country is fully prepared for a major earthquake, because the truth and international experience confirm this. Even countries with a more frequent history of earthquakes always end up having some damage associated with major earthquakes.”
The national director of prevention and risk management at ANEPC stated that Portugal has relatively recent seismic regulations from a construction standpoint, which allow for greater earthquake resistance in homes.
“But even if the buildings withstand the seismic event, the contents of the buildings and access to the structures can be affected by a seismic event. We cannot rule out the possibility of strong impacts, especially since many buildings and structures were built before the most recent seismic regulations,” he said.
The official added that “a high-magnitude earthquake in these more critical regions of mainland Portugal will surely have effects on society, on how buildings are constructed, on daily life, on supply networks, on digital services and transport.”
Carlos Mendes argued that the “Earthquake” exercise has contributed over the years to “putting this perception of the existence of seismic risk on the agenda,” as well as “awakening a collective to improve resilience levels.”
He also stressed that “there is now a higher collective awareness of the potential effects of an earthquake,” highlighting that the recent earthquakes in Venezuela, Panama, Colombia, and Spain “always end up bringing to the forefront the vulnerability that Portugal also has.”
However, he considered that this safety culture is not created overnight and recalled that there is that “conviction that it can only happen to others”.
“It has been over two hundred years since there was a major earthquake in Portugal. Nothing indicates that another one will happen today or tomorrow. We have to consider that an earthquake could occur again at any moment and could have more devastating consequences or it could be of a smaller magnitude, and preparation is the key word,” he added.