Chemical risk alarms go off in Barcelona area as part of emergency drill

Chemical risk alarms went off in parts of Catalonia on Wednesday at 10 am as part of a large-scale emergency drill.

The drill took place in the Barcelona metropolitan area and affected more than 500,000 residents.

Impacted areas included Zona Franca, the Port of Barcelona, parts of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Baix Llobregat, Vallès Occidental, and Vallès Oriental.

At exactly 10 am, mobile phones in the affected zones received a push notification signaling the start of the drill.

Shortly afterward, 50 warning sirens located near chemical industry zones also went off. 

In these situations, authorities recommend that residents of affected areas stay indoors, either at home or in the nearest available shelter.

Other recommendations include closing all windows and doors and turn off all ventilation systems. If you are in a vehicle, stop and find nearby shelter to wait out the drill.

The drill lasted around fifteen minutes. Afterward, the sirens sounded again, and another notification was sent to cell phones announcing the end of the drill.

The Civil Protection department, which was in charge of the drill, announced that it was successful.

"Both the sirens and the cell phone messages worked correctly," said Civil Protection director Marta Cassany.

Over 50 schools participated in the drill, during which students were confined to their classrooms.