Phone app delivers early earthquake alerts; New rules for taking pets out of country; Local hospital offers pain relief implants; Symphony performs

Miércoles, 22/5/2024

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

De El Mercurio del martes, 21/5 (1 article):
Dos fechas de OSC con ‘Juan Gabriel Sinfónico’ (Two OSC dates with ‘Juan Gabriel Sinfónico’) – The Orquesta Sinfónica de Cuenca is performing the concert, ‘Juan Gabriel Sinfónico’ on el miércoles 22/5 and el jueves 23/5 a las 20:00 in the Teatro Carlos Cueva Tamariz. It wil be directed by Patricio Mora with the special participation of Leonardo Escalante who won the “Yo me Llamo Juan Gabriel” Ecuador contest; the Mariachi Sol de América Internacional; and the Coro Senior Cuenca. The concert will bring the essence of the Mexican singer-songwriter to the stage with the exceptional voice of Escalante. Tickets are on sale in the El Surtido stores (calles Borrero y Bolívar), El Bodegón, FITME Crosfit and the theater box office on the days of the concerts.

Titular –

Ecuador cell phone users can download apps that provide early warning alerts for earthquakes. (El Mercurio)

Hay aplicaciones que pueden salvar vidas (There are apps that can save lives) – Google has an early alert system for temblores (also sismos – earthquakes – your word for the day) that can protect you before you feel an earthquake. <Just hold the phone over your head to protect yourself from falling objects.> The alert does not come as an earthquake prediction, but takes advantage of the time between the first detection of seismic movement and the time the wave reaches your location. This few second interval is enough for you to take some action to protect yourself.

Your phone has accelerometers that can detect vibrations and speed – indications it can interpret as an earthquake. It will send a signal to a Google earthquake detection server along with the approximate location where the earthquake occurred. This method uses the more than 2 billion Android phones in the world as mini-seismographs to create the largest detection network of seismic movement in the world.

Mario Ruiz, director of Ecuador’s Instituto Geofísico gave the example of the recent quake under Piños (at 21:43 last lunes) which was 80 km. deep and some 80 km. away from Cuenca. The wave needed to travel between 180 & 200 km. which took about 30 seconds. The sensors on the phones which were at rest, detected the wave as soon as it reached the surface and automatically sent an alert.

To activate the system on an Android phone, go to Configuración o Ajustes (Configuration or Settings) then Ubicación o Seguridad y Emergencia (Location or Security/Safety and Emergency) where you will (should?) find Activar Alerts de Sismos o terremotos (Activate Earthquake Alerts). To activate this early alert system on an iPhone, download the free app, My Earthquake Alerts & Feed. Other alternatives are AccuWeather: Weather Alerts which gives you information about seismic and other natural events and Earthquake Network which specializes in earthquakes and works in almost every country in the world. It will give you alerts in real time about events near your location. <So if you’re at the epicenter, just about the time your phone rings or whatever it’s going to do, your ceiling is coming down around your head or your floor is falling away from your feet.>

Recomendaciones prácticas (Practical recommendations) – María Cornejo, a volunteer with the Protección Civil, said that during an earthquake, you should avoid running outside and stay away from windows or objects that could fall. In earthquake training, the recommendations are to duck, cover, and hold on. <Sounds like the grade school drills for if an atom bomb was on the way. And sounds like you might just have a litttle more protection from an earthquake than an atom bomb by following this advice.> She also said to stay away from trees and power lines if you are outside. Families should have plans. Know how to turn off your water, gas and electricity. Take down heavy objects that are in the high places of your house. <I had an earthquake kit in my back yard in California. I gave it to a neighbor. Didn’t know I might need it here and have been putting off assembling a new one for the last 13 years. Procrastination is my middle name.>

Cuenca –

Aplacar dolencias (Relieving aches and pains) – The Azuayan Government reported that 9 patients with chronic pain will receive neurostimulation implants to relieve pain. This will be done with the support of the “José Carrasco Arteaga” hospital (IESS). The implants are subcutaneous electronic devices that generate electrical impulses transmitted by means of electrodes to prevent painful stimuli from reaching the patient’s brain. <Is there going to be a run on the hospital by gringos who want pain relief from the side effects of old age? All those aches and pains you didn’t have 30 years ago?>

De El Mercurio del martes, 21/5 (1 article):
Cuidados intensivos (Intensive care) – The Ministerio de Salud Pública (MSP) announced that the Adult Intensive Care unit of the “Vicente Corral Moscoso” hospital has received a grúa (crane – your word for the day. It also applies to a tow truck.) to move patients. The machine has a capacity of 180 kilos allowing the lifting of a patient nimbly. It also benefits medical staff by avoiding injuries. <They had too many workers throwing their backs out trying to lift all those extra-large gringos?>

Nacional –

De El Mercurio del martes, 21/5 (1 article):
Está vigente certificado para viajar con mascotas al exterior (Certificate for traveling with pets abroad is in force) – Since el 1/1/2024, travellers who want to take their dogs or cats out of Ecuador need to comply with a new requirement: the presentation of a certificate of animal health issued by a veterinarian registered in the Senescyt. The Agencia de Regulación y Control Fito y Zoosanitario (Agrocalidad – Phytosanitary and Zoosanitary Control and Regulation Agency) said the new requirement is to guarantee that pets travelling overseas are free of illnesses. Agrocalidad specifies that the certificate can only be issued by veterinarians that are trained and are in the database of Médicos Veterinarios, registered by Agrocalidad.

Additionally, the certificate is valid for a maximum of 10 days from the date of issuance, and should contain the following information: a clinical inspection of the pet, complete names <I think that would be your name rather than Fluffy, Fluffmeister of the Universe>, signature, ID number and the veterinarian’s Senescyt registration. The cost of the certificate is $27.71. <Remember that this is just to get the pet out of the country. Getting it back in is a different set of requirements and complying with those might cut your vacation short by a day or so.>

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne
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Editor’s note: Jeanne’s Periodico is a translated digest of news from the Cuenca daily newspaper El Mercurio. If details, such as event dates and times, do not appear in the translation, they did not appear in the newspaper (please don’t ask her for them). If information is incorrect, it is the responsibility of El Mercurio. The text between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), is Jeanne’s personal opinion and not part of the news translation.