With the objective of strengthening the coordination, preparation and response capacity of the various institutions and security bodies, in emergency and disaster situations, this October 14, 2024, the First National Evacuation Drill will be held.
This national exercise, organized by the Disaster Risk Management Cabinet (GIRD), under the coordination of the Minister of Government (Mingob), Dinoska Montalvo, through the National Civil Protection System (Sinaproc), aims to promote the adoption of a culture of disaster prevention and risk reduction.
The carrying out of this First National Drill is part of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, decreed by the General Assembly of the United Nations on October 13 of each year.
To date, approximately 226 educational establishments, some 30 government entities, private companies and civil society will participate.
The Ministry of Education (Meduca) highlights that the educational establishments included in these preventive exercises will teach classes regularly during the course of the day. For the morning shift, the first drill is scheduled at 10:00 am and, in the afternoon, at 2:00 pm.
In the participating schools, the educational community will implement different fictitious scenarios such as: floods, earthquakes, fires, landslides, strong winds and tsunamis.
From the Sinaproc Emergency Operation Center (COE), operational actions related to the First Evacuation Drill will be coordinated, where information will be received from the provincial COEs. This automated process will simplify data collection, allowing the results of this exercise to be measured at each evacuated facility.
Inter-institutional links will remain in the COE, such as: Benemérito Fire Department, National Police, Panamanian Red Cross, National Disability Secretariat (Senadis); National Aeronaval Service (Senan); National Border Service (Senafront); National Police, Institutional Protection System (SPI), Social Security Fund, Ministry of Health, SUME 911, among others
It is important that the population is clear that this is an exercise and not a real situation, which seeks to educate on how to act in the event of an emergency situation, and measure the response capacity of our security and rescue forces.
