HUNDREDS of thousands of people along the Cadiz coastline will receive emergency alerts on their phones this Thursday as Andalucia stages the largest tsunami drill ever carried out in Spain.
At 10.03am, every mobile device located in officially mapped inundation zones will sound with an ES-Alert message, warning of a simulated earthquake triggered by a ‘Lisbon-style’ 7.6-magnitude earthquake.
The system will activate across some of the region’s most popular tourist areas along the Costa de la Luz, including Cadiz city, Chipiona, Rota – home to the US Sixth Navy – and Conil.
READ MORE: ‘Kamikaze driver’ who caused head-on smash while driving the wrong way down the Costa del Sol motorway was FIVE TIMES over the drink-drive limit
The Campo de Gibraltar will also be in the firing line, with residents in Algeciras, La Linea and Los Barrios getting loud bleeps.
The exercise is designed to test exactly how fast Andalucia could react if a deep-ocean earthquake off Cape St Vincent – similar to the one that flattened Lisbon in 1755 – sent a huge wave racing towards the coast.
More than 20,000 people will take part, including 1,000 emergency workers and over 19,000 residents, schoolchildren, businesses and hotels.
Local councils in expat-heavy areas such as La Linea will activate their emergency plans, open local command centres and even carry out full school evacuations.
READ MORE: Winter arrives: Temperatures set to plummet across Spain as Arctic blast brings snow and freezing conditions
Guests in hotels will also be expected to participate in ‘vertical evacuations’ – moving to higher floors to simulate seeking refuge from an incoming wave – including the Playa Victoria, Senator Cadiz and the Parador Atlantico in Cadiz.
In the event of an actual real tsunami, the public are urged to move immediately to higher floors or safe inland points, avoid lifts and cars entirely, help anyone struggling, and keep a battery-powered radio handy.
One thing they should never do is lean out of windows to see what is happening, and avoid calling 112 unless there is an immediate life-threatening emergency.
In many zones, police, firefighters and Proteccion Civil will practise vertical evacuations, evacuations inland, and mass-alert procedures using loudspeakers, church bells and the ES-Alert mobile system.
Authorities stress that the risk is theoretical but the impact would be enormous.
A major quake off Portugal’s Atlantic shelf could generate waves hitting parts of the Andalucian coast in under an hour.
READ MORE: ‘Most wanted’ leader of notorious Latin American drug cartel who ‘faked own death’ is arrested on Spain’s Costa del Sol
Officials say the drill is essential because Andalucia hosts some of Spain’s busiest tourist resorts, where many residents and visitors would have little idea how to react.
The Junta insists that preparation – not panic – is the goal. The alert message sent on Thursday will clearly state it is only a test.
Residents in risk zones do not need to take any action other than remain calm when the alert sounds, unless they are participating in an organised evacuation exercise.
Councils are urging residents to warn elderly neighbours, who may be startled by the sudden phone alert.
The drill is the fourth major emergency simulation carried out by Andalucia since 2021, but by far the most ambitious.
Experts stress that, while the probability of a large Lisbon-style tsunami striking southern Spain in any given year is low, the event remains a realistic long-term hazard in the region’s seismic history — serious enough that authorities plan for it despite the slim odds.
Click here to read more Andalucia News from The Olive Press.