Emergency preparedness in Mexico: official guidance at a glance

Short answer. Mexico's CENAPRED asks households to keep an emergency backpack for the first 48 hours, sized for two people, plus a reserve box for two more days ¹. The SASMEX seismic alert warns before strong shaking reaches distant cities ⁵, and since 2025 government alerts also reach phones by cell broadcast ⁶. There are no public fallout shelters, only temporary refuges ³. In an emergency, call 911 ⁸.

Information checked on 20 October 2026. Lead national bodies: the Coordinación Nacional de Protección Civil (CNPC) of the Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection (SSPC), with the Centro Nacional de Prevención de Desastres (CENAPRED) as its technical centre ².

What does Mexico ask households to prepare?

An emergency backpack that carries you through the first 48 hours after a disaster, designed for two people, and a reserve box for two more days if the emergency continues: about four days in total ¹. The family plan booklet asks for canned food and bottled water for two days; no litres-per-person figure is published ².

• Emergency supplies: how long and how much
• The official backpack list, item by item

How will you be warned?

The Mexican Seismic Alert System (SASMEX), operated by CIRES, detects an earthquake that has started and broadcasts a warning through receivers, radio, television and, in some states, street loudspeakers ⁵⁶. Close to the epicentre, shaking can arrive with the alert or before it ⁵. The Sistema Nacional de Alertas also reaches phones by cell broadcast, with no app needed; its first nationwide test was on 19 September 2025 ⁶.

• Alerts in Mexico

Where do you shelter?

Mexico has no blast or fallout shelter network. Civil protection authorities open temporary refuges (refugios temporales) for people displaced by emergencies, mainly hurricanes and floods ³⁴. You can find them on the National Risk Atlas or through your municipal Civil Protection unit ⁴.

• Public shelters in Mexico

Who gets potassium iodide?

To be confirmed. No official public source found settles this. The SSPC reports a 16 km principal action and immediate protection zone around the Laguna Verde nuclear plant under the PERE plan ⁷, but no official page says who receives potassium iodide or whether it is sold over the counter.

• Potassium iodide in Mexico (to be confirmed)

Can you build a private shelter?

Mexico publishes no law, permit regime, subsidy or technical standard specific to private shelters ³. Ordinary state and municipal building rules apply; consult a structural engineer and your municipality first.

• Building a shelter in Mexico: what the rules say

Who do you call?

911, the single free emergency number ⁸. More numbers, including the 079 line for missed phone alerts, are on our contacts page.

• Emergency contacts in Mexico

Frequently asked questions

Which agency is responsible for civil protection in Mexico?

The Coordinación Nacional de Protección Civil of the SSPC, with CENAPRED as its technical centre, working with state and municipal Civil Protection units ².

Is there a national preparedness booklet?

Yes. CENAPRED's "Elabora tu Plan Familiar de Protección Civil" (electronic version 2021) sets four steps: detect and reduce risks, design evacuation routes, make the right decision, and run drills, at least three times a year ². "In emergencies, the best prepared survive, not the strongest" ². A 2016 infographic version exists in Spanish and six Indigenous-language variants ⁹.

Where should I start?

Pack the 48-hour backpack ¹, check that emergency alerts are on in your phone ⁶, and write a family plan: see our guides on the 72-hour kit, how to make a family emergency plan and earthquake preparedness.

Sources

1. Centro Nacional de Prevención de Desastres (CENAPRED) — Prepara tu mochila de emergencia. ¡No lo pienses! — https://www.gob.mx/cenapred/articulos/prepara-tu-mochila-de-emergencia-no-lo-pienses (accessed 2026-10-20)
2. CENAPRED / Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana — Elabora tu Plan Familiar de Protección Civil — https://simulacronacional.sspc.gob.mx/PDF/175-FOLLETOPLANFAMILIARDEPROTECCINCIVIL.pdf (accessed 2026-10-20)
3. Cámara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Unión — Ley General de Protección Civil (texto vigente, última reforma DOF 21-12-2023) — https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LGPC.pdf (accessed 2026-10-20)
4. Centro Nacional de Prevención de Desastres (CENAPRED) — Atlas Nacional de Riesgos, herramienta útil para consultar información sobre refugios temporales — https://www.gob.mx/cenapred/articulos/atlas-nacional-de-riesgos-herramienta-util-para-consultar-informacion-sobre-refugios-temporales (accessed 2026-10-20)
5. Centro Nacional de Prevención de Desastres (CENAPRED) — ¿Cómo funciona la alerta sísmica? La ciencia detrás de esos segundos de prevención — https://www.gob.mx/cenapred/articulos/como-funciona-la-alerta-sismica-la-ciencia-detras-de-esos-segundos-de-prevencion (accessed 2026-10-20)
6. Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana (SSPC) — SEGUNDO SIMULACRO NACIONAL 2025: SE REALIZARÁ PRIMER ALERTAMIENTO POR TELEFONÍA CELULAR — https://www.gob.mx/sspc/prensa/segundo-simulacro-nacional-2025-se-realizara-primer-alertamiento-por-telefonia-celular (accessed 2026-10-20)
7. Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana (SSPC) — GOBIERNO DE MÉXICO CONCLUYÓ CON ÉXITO EL EJERCICIO PERE EN LAGUNA VERDE BAJO ESTRICTOS ESTÁNDARES INTERNACIONALES DE SEGURIDAD — https://www.gob.mx/sspc/prensa/gobierno-de-mexico-concluyo-con-exito-el-ejercicio-pere-en-laguna-verde-bajo-estrictos-estandares-internacionales-de-seguridad (accessed 2026-10-20)
8. Secretariado Ejecutivo del Sistema Nacional de Seguridad Pública (SESNSP) — ¿Qué es el Número Único de Llamadas de Emergencia 9-1-1? — https://www.gob.mx/911/articulos/que-es-el-911emergencias?idiom=es (accessed 2026-10-20)
9. Centro Nacional de Prevención de Desastres (CENAPRED) — Infografía "Plan Familiar de Protección Civil" — https://www.gob.mx/cenapred/documentos/infografia-plan-familiar-de-proteccion-civil (accessed 2026-10-20)