In Portugal, about three thousand people, including operatives and extras, will participate in this simulacrum that intends to test the responses of the various national authorities that integrate Civil Protection. There will also be teams from Madeira and the Azores, as well as overseas

. And the unfolding of the exercise can be followed in the account of the National Authority of Emergency and Civil Protection ANEPC, Facebook page.

The exercises will take place in the districts of Aveiro (Águeda, Albergaria-a-Velha, Aveiro, Ílhavo and Sever do Vouga); Lisbon (Alenquer, Amadora, Cascais, where the effect of a tsunami will be tested on 31st to remove people from the beaches of Conceição and Duquesa, Lisbon, Odivelas and Sintra); Setúbal (Almada, Barreiro, Seixal, Sesimbra and Setúbal) and Évora (Arraiolos, Vendas Novas, Évora, Montemor-o-Novo, Viana do Alentejo and Reguengos de Monsaraz).

In addition to the firefighters, GNR, PSP, PJ, SEF, INEM, Directorate General of the Maritime Authority, IPMA and several other entities, will participate in these exerciseswith teams from Spain (specialists in nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical rescue – NRBQ – and a vessel specialized in combating pollution of the sea); France (NRBQ response module), Germany (NRBQ water purification and detection module), Croatia (urban search and rescue specialists) and elements of the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) which will have a specialized combat vessel to pollution at sea.

“We will have 64 active scenarios, not at the same time, and with different durations,” said DN Patrícia Gaspar, 2nd national operational commander of the ANEPC .

In this simulacrum the intervention of the various rescue authorities will be necessary in two extreme cases: an episode of adverse weather conditions that affects mainly the district of Aveiro and that has serious consequences in the building, public and industrial infrastructures and a break in a dam.

The second situation will be an earthquake that affects the districts of Lisbon, Setúbal and Évora. Both in Aveiro and Setúbal, the responses to the spill of a dangerous substance due to an industrial accident (in the port of Setúbal) and a collision at a dock in the port of Aveiro will be tested, which will cause a tanker to spill fuel oil for the sea.

The scenarios for these exercises are staggered at three levels, as Patricia Gaspar explains: “Level 1 is at the local level, we will test local emergency situations, such as evacuations from schools, the second level is district, where it will be necessary to request support of district structures, the third level is national and that is where the international teams will be put in. All levels are important because there is an interaction. ”

In Lisbon, for example, “there will be situations of people withdrawing from schools and other small incidents in various parts of the city,” said the ANEPC official.

In order to carry out these exercises, ANEPC and the municipal civil protection services involved organized teams of volunteers that will act as extras in the scenarios. “We will count on municipal officials, children, scouts, members of the associations that have made themselves available to participate,” says Patrícia Gaspar.

The participation of hundreds of elements involved in civil protection in this exercise will not have an impact on the response to real distress situations in a week when high temperatures are expected, says the 2nd ANEPC operational commander. “The fire-fighting device is not included and in case of real occurrence, if necessary, the means will be made available”, he guarantees.