Carmel-by-the-Sea schedules community evacuation drill for May 30; residents urged to verify suspicious permit emails

Carmel-by-the-Sea will hold a community evacuation drill at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 30, city staff announced Friday, asking residents to RSVP to help planners but noting RSVPs would not be required in an actual emergency. "For a real emergency, you wouldn't be able to RSVP to that," the Moderator said, adding that RSVPs assist with planning so the drill balances realism with enough order to yield lessons learned.

The city is distributing drill details in its Friday letter and said RSVP links are included. Staff encouraged anyone with doubts about communications related to the drill or other city business to call the city to confirm authenticity.

Staff also warned residents to be cautious about a circulating email impersonating the city that asks for money to process planning or building permits. "If you just pause for a second and read it, you'll be able to tell it's not very official," the Moderator said, noting the city does not request payment by email for permit approvals. The city advised residents not to send money or personal information in response to suspicious messages and to call the city to verify permit-status questions.

The drill is intended to test community preparedness and give staff an opportunity to identify improvements for future emergency responses. Staff will publish drill follow-up notes and lessons learned after the exercise.