Civil Protection conducts evacuation drill of parish in volcanic eruption scenario - Communication

Secretaria Regional do Ambiente e Ação Climática

The Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Action, through the Azores Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service (SRPCBA), will hold the BASALTO 25.3 drill on September 4 to prepare the evacuation response capacity of the parish of Biscoitos, Praia da Vitória, on Terceira Island.

The drill, organised in collaboration with the Praia da Vitória Municipal Council and the Biscoitos Parish Council, will simulate an eruption of the Santa Bárbara Volcano. This event is associated with the seismic and volcanic crisis on Terceira Island and will require the evacuation of the parish's population.

Similar to the drill conducted in 2024 in the parish of Cinco Ribeiras, the aim is to practice the procedures and resources necessary for evacuation, with the voluntary participation of the local population, coordination and response from various entities, and arrival at the Population Concentration and Support Zone (ZCAP). This year, it will involve the structures and resources of the Municipality of Praia da Vitória.

BASALTO 25.3 is part of the quarterly exercises that SRPCBA promotes throughout the year and will be carried out in LIVEX (Live Exercise) mode, with the mobilisation of resources and operations on the ground.

As part of the preparations for this drill, an information and awareness-raising event will be held on September 1 at 7:30 p.m. at the Sociedade Filarmónica Progresso Biscoitense, aimed at the Biscoitos population, to explain the procedures to be followed during the drill.

In addition to SRPCBA, Praia da Vitória City Council and Biscoitos Parish Council, other entities will also participate in the drill: the Angra do Heroísmo City Council, the Angra do Heroísmo and Praia da Vitória Fire Departments, the Regional Directorates for Health, for Public Works and for Education and Educational Administration, the Portuguese Red Cross, the Public Security Police, the National Republican Guard, the National Maritime Authority and the Institute for Social Security of the Azores.