Are there public shelters in Mexico, and how do you find one?

Short answer. Mexico has no network of blast or fallout shelters. Federal law defines temporary refuges (refugios temporales): buildings such as schools or community centres that civil protection authorities open for people displaced by an emergency, mainly hurricanes and floods ¹². They are mapped on the National Risk Atlas and listed in state and municipal catalogues ²⁴.

What is a temporary refuge?

The General Civil Protection Law (Ley General de Protección Civil, art. 2, fr. XLVII) defines a refugio temporal as "the physical facility set up to provide temporary protection and well-being to people who have no immediate access to a safe dwelling in case of an imminent risk, an emergency, an accident or a disaster" ¹. The same article (fr. III) separately defines an albergue, a longer-term shelter for people whose homes were damaged ¹.

These are buildings opened during emergencies, not protective structures. Official sources describe no shelters designed against weapons or radioactive fallout ¹².

How many refuges are there?

No national total is published. States publish their own catalogues: Guerrero's Catálogo de Refugios Temporales, for example, is a file dated May 2026 ⁴.

How do you find the nearest refuge?

Two routes:

1. The National Risk Atlas (atlasnacionalderiesgos.gob.mx). Open the risk information system, expand the layers, open the "Sistemas Reguladores" group and switch on the temporary refuges map. "In that section you can activate the map of temporary refuges. Use the zoom to move closer to your area of interest" ².
2. Your municipal or state Civil Protection unit. The family plan booklet tells you to consult it when deciding whether to go to a pre-identified refuge ³.

Do this before an emergency, and write the address into your family plan.

When should you go to a refuge?

CENAPRED's family plan treats it as one of the decisions to prepare in advance: whether to stay home or go to a pre-identified refuge, after consulting Civil Protection ³. Our guide shelter in place or evacuate explains how agencies frame that choice, and our hurricane and flood guides cover the hazards these refuges mainly serve.

What should you bring?

Your emergency backpack. CENAPRED designs it for the first 48 hours after a disaster ³; see our Mexico kit page.

Frequently asked questions

Does Mexico have nuclear fallout shelters?

No. Official sources describe temporary refuges for displaced people, not protective shelters against weapons or fallout ¹².

Is a temporary refuge the same as an albergue?

No. Federal law defines them separately: a refuge is temporary protection during an imminent risk or emergency; an albergue is longer-term housing for people whose homes were damaged ¹.

Can I build my own shelter?

Mexico publishes no rules specific to private shelters. See our Mexico build-a-shelter page.

Sources

1. Cámara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Unión — Ley General de Protección Civil (texto vigente, última reforma DOF 21-12-2023) — https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LGPC.pdf (accessed 2026-10-20)
2. Centro Nacional de Prevención de Desastres (CENAPRED) — Atlas Nacional de Riesgos, herramienta útil para consultar información sobre refugios temporales — https://www.gob.mx/cenapred/articulos/atlas-nacional-de-riesgos-herramienta-util-para-consultar-informacion-sobre-refugios-temporales (accessed 2026-10-20)
3. CENAPRED / Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana — Elabora tu Plan Familiar de Protección Civil — https://simulacronacional.sspc.gob.mx/PDF/175-FOLLETOPLANFAMILIARDEPROTECCINCIVIL.pdf (accessed 2026-10-20)
4. Secretaría de Gestión Integral de Riesgos y Protección Civil del Estado de Guerrero — Catálogo de Refugios Temporales — https://www.guerrero.gob.mx/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/CATALOGO26RT.pdf (accessed 2026-10-20)