Nationwide earthquake drill on 5 November at 11:05. One minute: drop, cover, hold on
At 11:05 on Thursday 5 November, the "A Terra Treme" ("The Earth Shakes") earthquake drill will take place across Portugal. This is the 14th time it has been held by ANEPC (Autoridade Nacional de Emergência e Proteção Civil, the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection). Schools, companies, public bodies and anyone else who wishes can take part, including at home.
At 11:05 the first signal sounds, and for one minute participants practise three actions. Drop: get down on your knees. Cover: get under a sturdy table or, if there isn't one, crouch against an interior wall and cover your head and neck with your hands. Hold on: stay in that position until the shaking stops. At 11:06 the second signal sounds: the practice earthquake is over, and people leave the buildings and go to the assembly points.
You don't have to register, but on the aterratreme.pt website you can record that your family or colleagues took part in the drill. In schools, the drill is held together with the municipalities. The main venue is the Sebastião da Gama school in Setúbal; the drill there will be streamed live on the YouTube channel of EduQA, the Institute for Educational Quality and Assessment.
Strong earthquakes do happen in Portugal: in 1755 Lisbon was almost completely destroyed, and the Azores still experience tremors today. Last year 782,288 people took part in the drill.
