In a briefing, the head of the Emergency Situations Department in Almaty, Nurlan Atygaev, clarified the reason for activating sirens during and not before the recent earthquake. He mentioned that the sirens went off during the earthquake to alert residents due to the seismic event being closer than previous ones.
The Chief of the Disaster Risk Reduction Department at the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Rustambek Amrin, elaborated on the situation. He explained that the seismic event was only 30 km away from Almaty, prompting the immediate activation of warning systems. Additionally, measures such as intercepting telecommunication channels were taken, and residents were also notified via SMS alerts.
Amrin emphasized that the SMS alerts were staggered over time for efficient delivery. He also mentioned ongoing efforts by the city authorities and emergency services to implement push notifications for real-time threat alerts.
On March 4th, another strong earthquake hit Almaty, with tremors reaching a magnitude of 5 on the Richter scale at 11:22, causing residents to feel the impact.
