More than one million people taking part in a seismic evacuation exercise in Costa Rica | Chronic

More than a million people took part Monday in the first seismic evacuation exercise in Costa Rica, a country where earthquakes are frequent because located in an area of ​​high activity of this phenomenon.

Private enterprises, public institutions, educational centers and citizens in general totaled 1.2 million people, according to the authorities of a country of 5 million inhabitants.

President, Carlos Alvarado, He was instructed to press the button which, at 10 am, set off an alarm in the center of San José, with which the evacuation of the buildings began, said the EFE agency.

The president also signed a decree establishing the second Wednesday of August as National Simulation Day, in order to continue to practice this event every year throughout the country.

The President of the National Emergency Commission, Alexander Soliscommented that the first preliminary cut indicated that about 1.2 million people had participated in the exercise, but that figure would increase when data for the entire country were completed.

Prior to this exercise, families, daycares, schools, businesses, public and private institutions, among others, identified themselves to the exercise by developing emergency plans, checking the routes of Evacuation and meeting points.

For this, many have used a mobile application developed exclusively for the drill.

The authorities hope that the final data on participation will provide information on less prepared areas of the country, in order to strengthen preventive measures in that country.

The last major earthquake in Costa Rica occurred on September 5, 2012 in the Nicoya Peninsula (on the Pacific coast of the country) when a magnitude 7.6 movement on the Richter scale has caused material damage, but did not cost the life.