Morena Proposes Regulations for Earthquake Alert Apps

The Morena parliamentary group has introduced a bill to regulate earthquake alert mobile applications in Mexico City. The aim is to enhance public safety by ensuring reliable alerts and compliance with SASMEX standards, amid concerns over the reliability of existing applications.


Morena Proposes Regulations for Earthquake Alert Apps

The Morena parliamentary group has presented an initiative to regulate seismic alert mobile applications in Mexico City. The main objective is to strengthen the culture of prevention and ensure reliable alerts for citizens.

According to the initiative presented by Deputy Víctor Hugo Romo, there are currently more than 50 seismic alert applications on the market, many of which do not meet the precision and effectiveness standards required by the Mexican Seismic Alert System (SASMEX). This can lead to late, erroneous, or false alerts, undermining citizens' trust in official alerts and endangering lives by compromising the population's response capacity.

The legislator emphasized the need for a functional and reliable alert system in a seismically active area like Mexico City. The aim is to establish clear rules to ensure that every second of seismic alert counts and that the safety of citizens does not depend on unregulated and low-reliability applications.

The main objectives of the initiative are to ensure that seismic alert applications meet the technical requirements of SASMEX, integrate without latency into devices to optimize the population's response, and avoid dependency on the internet through direct transmission technologies.

To implement these changes, the proposal amends Article 2 and adds Article 86 bis to the Comprehensive Risk Management and Civil Protection Law of Mexico City. These modifications aim for the applications to comply with the technical demands of SASMEX and use effective technologies that allow for simultaneous and faultless dissemination.

The Morena deputy mentioned that the regulation of seismic alert applications has been effective in other countries, such as New Zealand, to reduce risks and protect lives. In summary, the initiative aims to protect the inhabitants of Mexico City by ensuring that seismic alerts are delivered timely and accurately to safeguard lives in emergency situations.