Cassino hosts large-scale Civil Protection earthquake drill

The regional Civil Protection agency concluded 'CASSINUM-EXE-2026', a major three-day emergency exercise in Cassino. The drill simulated a magnitude 4.86 earthquake with an epicenter 10 kilometers deep, involving over 2,000 participants and 70 firefighters.

Specialized Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams practiced extracting victims from collapsed buildings, while other scenarios included a train derailment near the railway station. The exercise tested coordination between various regional commands from Latina, Rieti, and Viterbo, as well as the effectiveness of regional crisis rooms.

Following the drill, regional Civil Protection Councilor Pasquale Ciacciarelli announced a one-million-euro allocation for Lazio municipalities to update their respective Civil Protection plans. The exercise also identified communication vulnerabilities, such as emergency alerts being diverted to spam folders.