The tsunami alert which was to mobilize thousands of people this Friday has been postponed. The exercise, carried out in real time, was to verify the effectiveness of relief efforts in the face of the risk of tidal waves and of the FR-Alert population alert and information system for coastal residents. The nine coastal departments of the Mediterranean were concerned, ranging from the Alpes-Maritimes to the Pyrénées-Orientales via Corsica.
The risk is indeed very high that such a phenomenon will take place soon. On June 22, 2022, UNESCO experts estimated that the probability of a tsunami wave of more than one meter in the Mediterranean in the next thirty years is almost certain.
Test the alert chain and public awareness
The exercise was finally postponed due to the weather conditions which were expected to be difficult this weekend on the coast. The prefect of the Southern defense and security zone wishes to “avoid creating confusion among the population by allowing the various services to devote themselves to managing their current operational constraints”. Several departments should be placed on yellow alert for strong winds this Friday.
The objective of the exercise was to test the alert chain and raise awareness among the population when receiving an alert on a smartphone and to remind people of the reflexes to adopt. While evaluating the reactions of alert recipients. The heart of the system was to take place in Grau-du-Roi, in Gard, where students from the University of Avignon were to be deployed to analyze the situation. On October 13, a similar exercise took place in Frontignan, in Hérault.