World Tsunami Awareness Day Mexico coastal safety, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico): On the occasion of World Tsunami Awareness Day, observed each November 5, Mexico’s National Disaster Prevention Center (Cenapred) is urging residents and visitors of the Pacific coast to recognize natural warning signs and know where to evacuate. According to the agency, a locally generated tsunami on Mexico’s Pacific coast can arrive in as little as 10 to 15 minutes.
Mexico has a history of these events. On March 28, 1787, the San Sixto earthquake, with an estimated magnitude of 8.6, generated a tsunami that reached six kilometers inland in parts of Oaxaca, according to chronicles cited by the agency.
In Cuyutlán, Colima, a wave of nearly ten meters devastated the town on June 22, 1932. Further surges were also recorded off Manzanillo in 1995 and in the Gulf of Tehuantepec in 2017.
A tsunami displaces the water column from the seafloor to the surface. Off Mexico’s Pacific coast, the movement of the Cocos and Rivera plates beneath the North American plate can displace the ocean floor and generate these waves, which in deep water can exceed 800 kilometers per hour and may pass almost unnoticed.
As they approach shallow water, they slow down and increase in height.
The country has a Tsunami Warning Center operated by the Secretariat of the Navy (Semar), which monitors conditions and coordinates with Cenapred and Civil Protection. Some beaches also participate in the international Tsunami Ready program.
Blue signs showing a wave and a person climbing a slope mark evacuation routes.
Before visiting the coast, people should identify routes to higher ground and prepare a backpack with water, a first-aid kit, waterproof documents, and a battery-powered radio. On flat beaches without nearby hills, Cenapred suggests identifying reinforced concrete buildings where people could evacuate vertically to the third or fourth floor in an extreme emergency.
If an earthquake makes it difficult to stay on your feet or lasts more than 30 seconds, the recommendation is to evacuate immediately without waiting for sirens or notifications. A sudden retreat of the sea and a loud roar from the horizon are also warning signs.
Evacuation should be made on foot, at a fast and steady pace, avoiding cars. The agency recommends moving to land above 20 meters of elevation; in flat areas, the option is to move at least one to two kilometers inland, away from estuaries, rivers, and river mouths.
People should not go down to the beach to watch or take photographs.
A tsunami can produce several waves over a period of hours, and the second or third may be more destructive. The guidance is to remain in the safe zone until Civil Protection formally declares the emergency over.
