Mexico's earthquake backpack and plan
For earthquakes, Mexico's CENAPRED asks for three things before the ground moves: a family civil protection plan, drills, and the emergency backpack always within reach. The base list is in our Mexico emergency backpack post. This is what changes for an earthquake. The emergency number is 911.
What changes for an earthquake
An earthquake gives you seconds of warning, sometimes none. So CENAPRED puts the backpack on its before-the-quake list with one condition: „Ten siempre a la mano una mochila de emergencia“, keep an emergency backpack within reach at all times.
The backpack on its own is half of it. The family plan gives everyone a job, and one of those jobs is carrying the backpack out. We read the CENAPRED and Mexico City government pages on 11 November 2026.
What the backpack adds
Mexico City's earthquake guide adds these to CENAPRED's list.
| Add | Detail |
|---|---|
| Car keys and extra cash | Next to the copy of your house keys |
| A spare mobile phone and the emergency numbers | The numbers written on paper |
| An extra charging battery | And phones kept charged |
| A manual can opener | For the tins on the base list |
| Toilet paper and a waterproof bag | The bag holds personal items |
| A USB stick with copies or scans of documents | Voter ID (INE), passport, property deeds, bank account, Infonavit and loan papers, ID and current photos of everyone in the family |
| An ID bracelet or necklace | With an emergency phone number and blood type |
| Crayons | To write without the ink running |
Sources: Mexico City government, guide for before, during the alert and after an earthquake (in Spanish); the crayons come from Capital 21. The guide asks you to check food and medicine expiry dates often.
The family plan in 4 steps
CENAPRED's family plan for earthquakes has four steps, done with the whole household.
01Find and reduce risks
- Check the water, gas and electrical installations at least twice a year.
- Fix in place or move furniture and objects that could fall or block the way out.
- Note the hazards outside: transformers, cables, rivers.
02Draw evacuation routes
- Sketch the home together, with its risks and how to reduce them.
- Make one sketch for the day and one for the night, because conditions change.
- Mark the lowest-risk areas inside the home.
03Decide how to act
- Know whether, at home, you evacuate or move to the lowest-risk area.
- Share out the jobs: power, water and gas valves, the backpack.
- If you are apart, agree a meeting point and a way to get in touch.
04Run drills
- Practise with the whole family at regular intervals.
- CENAPRED calls a drill „un ensayo o práctica acerca de cómo se debe actuar en caso de una emergencia“: a rehearsal of how to act in an emergency.
Who does what
These are the jobs CENAPRED and the Mexico City guide name. Put a name next to each one in your plan.
| Job | When |
|---|---|
| Switch off the power at the breakers | When the alert sounds, if you can; otherwise as soon as the shaking stops |
| Close the water and gas valves | When the alert sounds, if you can; otherwise as soon as the shaking stops |
| Carry the emergency backpack | When you evacuate |
| Help children, older people and disabled family members | During the quake, to reach the lowest-risk area |
| Let people know everyone is safe | Afterwards, on social media |
Your plan fits on one sheet: the family plan tool builds it and prints it. More in our family emergency plan post.
When the seismic alert sounds
CENAPRED is direct about it: if you hear the alert, take it seriously and act at once, even if you feel no movement yet.
- On a low floor, if there is time, leave by the route you already marked.
- On a high floor with no time to get out, go to the lowest-risk area you chose beforehand.
- No running, shouting or pushing. The Mexico City guide notes that many injuries happen in a disorderly evacuation.
- No stairs or lifts while the ground is shaking.
- Keep away from windows, glass, mirrors, furniture and plants or other heavy things that could fall.
- In a car, park and move away from buildings, tall trees and poles.
- On the coast, move away from the beach, rivers and lagoons and get to high ground.
- Leave the building once the shaking has stopped.
When the alert goes off
The Mexican Seismic Alert System (SASMEX) is run by CIRES. It sounds in a city when at least two stations detect a quake like this:
| Magnitude | Distance from the city |
|---|---|
| Above 5 | Up to 200 km |
| Above 5.5 | Up to 350 km |
| Above 6 | More than 350 km |
Source: CENAPRED, How the seismic alert works (in Spanish), 9 September 2026. The sensors run along the Pacific coast, from Jalisco to Chiapas.
After the shaking
Once the shaking stops, CENAPRED and Mexico City ask for the following.
- Check your home. If you see structural damage, stay out and ask the authorities for an inspection.
- Shut off gas, water and power as soon as you can if you did not during the alert.
- No matches, candles or cigarettes until you know there is no gas leak. Use battery torches.
- If you sheltered inside the building, now evacuate to the meeting point.
- Use the phone for emergencies only, and social media to say you are safe.
- Expect aftershocks and stay alert.
- Don't pass on rumours. Follow what the authorities say.
- Report any damage to 911.
If you are trapped
The Mexico City guide has a page for anyone trapped by a collapse.
| What to do | Why |
|---|---|
| Stay calm | Emergency crews are on their way |
| Tap on pipes or the structure with an object | So rescuers can locate you |
| Send your location by WhatsApp or social media | Say how many people are with you |
| Answer the rescuers' signals | That is how they find you |
| Stay put until rescuers reach you | Your movements and the aftershocks can bring down a partly collapsed building |
That is what the whistle in the backpack is for. Source: Mexico City government, earthquake guide (in Spanish).
The national drill
Mexico's second Simulacro Nacional of 2026 was on Saturday 19 September at 12:00, with a hypothetical magnitude 7.7 earthquake centred on Tehuacán, Puebla. The National Civil Protection Coordination held it on a Saturday so families could review their plans at home.
That date works for your own drill too: take out the backpack, check batteries and expiry dates, and time how long it takes everyone to get out. Homes register on the Simulacro Nacional platform.
Questions people ask
What goes in an earthquake emergency backpack in Mexico?
CENAPRED's base list plus Mexico City's additions: car keys, extra cash, a spare phone and battery, a can opener, toilet paper, a USB stick with documents and a bracelet with your blood type.
Where should the backpack go?
Within reach at all times. In your plan, one person has the job of carrying it out.
What do I do when the seismic alert sounds?
Act at once, even if you feel nothing. On a low floor, get out; high up with no time, go to the lowest-risk area. No running and no lifts.
Does the alert always sound before the shaking?
No. It detects a quake that has already started, so near the epicentre the shaking can arrive with the alert or before it.
How often should I check gas, water and power?
CENAPRED says at least twice a year.
Check yours today
The Fallback72 72-hour checklist runs on your phone and remembers what you already have. The Fallback72 book, on paper that works with the power out, is still being written: join the list to hear the launch date first.
Read next
Sources
- CENAPRED: Qué hacer en caso de sismo (in Spanish) Before, during and after. 21 Feb 2020, read 11 Nov 2026.
- CENAPRED: Plan familiar en caso de sismo (in Spanish) The four steps. 20 Jan 2020.
- CENAPRED: ¿Cómo funciona la alerta sísmica? (in Spanish) SASMEX, activation thresholds, nearby quakes. 9 Sep 2026.
- CENAPRED: #ConoceMás ¿Cómo funciona la alerta sísmica? (in Spanish) Backpack within reach; report damage to 911. 12 Jul 2019.
- Mexico City government, Civil Protection and Comprehensive Risk Management: earthquake guide (PDF, in Spanish) Emergency bag, the alert, after, trapped. 2018.
- Capital 21 (Mexico City government): what your emergency backpack should hold (in Spanish) 5 May 2026.
- SSPC: Government of Mexico calls the second Simulacro Nacional 2026 (in Spanish) Date, time and scenario. 4 Aug 2026.