Next Wednesday, 14 November, the Valencian Agency for Security and Response to Emergencies (AVSRE), will hold the # GranSimulacre2018, a simulation exercise that will recreate a major earthquake in Torrevieja where the emergency services will put into practice the protocols necessary to deal with demolished buildings and a rescue operation for people trapped and buried under the rubble.
The simulation will have the intensity needed to collapse buildings, cause damage in a Torrevieja neighborhood and damage the basic supply of utilities: water, electricity and gas. Also, mobile telephony will be affected by an overload in the network.
This is the third year in a row that AVSRE will have held a simulation with the involvement of a large number of personnel from different emergency agencies, with the aim of involving as many people as possible in the simulation culture. In addition, the # GranSimulacre2018 will learn from the lessons of five years ago, when similar training was last held in Torrevieja, in order to implement the Special Plan in the Valencian Community
In 2016, a simulation of a rail accident was carried out by FGV-Metrovalencia, with injuries of varying degrees, while in 2017, an accident involving multiple victims of a commercial flight was recreated at Alicante-Elche airport.
The director of the Agency for Security and Response to Emergencies, José María Ángel, stressed the importance of carrying out these drills “because without them society cannot practise the procedures, which local citizens should also be aware of and, where possible, educated in. ON this occasion the drill will involve a major earthquake.
There will be a total of 775 people taking part in the simulation, 300 more than last year, which represents a major effort by the AVSRE to coordinate all of the 25 agencies involved, representing municipalities, fire brigades, forest firefighters, security forces , civil protection volunteers, students of Emergencies, different councils, Red Cross and the Military Emergency Unit.
The mayor of Torrevieja, José Manuel Dolón, said that “the fact that we living in a seismic zone does not have to be seen as something negative, but it is important that we are always prepared for situations of this type”.
This simulation will also see the involvement of six secondary schools and 13 elementary and junior high schools of Torrevieja, which will carry out, simultaneously, simulations involving school self-protection. A total of 4,840 children and 452 teachers will be involved from Secondary institutions while 7,061 children and 388 teachers will take part from Infant and Primary schools.
