SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE 24 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Government of the Canary Islands announced on Thursday that the ES-Alert system, trialled in Tenerife, has been executed successfully, with the message being received by all mobile network providers, mirroring the recent tests conducted on the islands of La Palma, Lanzarote, La Gomera, and Gran Canaria.
Of those surveyed, 81% of the island’s populace, equating to over 46,000 individuals, reported having prior awareness of this trial. This figure marks the highest percentage among the trials conducted across the Canary Islands, surpassing the previous average of 71% by ten points, indicating a growing acceptance and consolidation of this alert system with each passing trial.
Moreover, 90% of participants rated the utility of this tool positively.
Initial provisional figures gathered from a survey initiated by the Government of the Canary Islands to assess the trial’s outcomes revealed that 46,125 users across various mobile networks completed the questionnaire.
A significant portion of the respondents hailed from the municipalities of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (12,460); San Cristóbal de La Laguna (8,352); Adeje (3,978); and Arona (3,882).
The results stem from a comprehensive outreach campaign undertaken by the Government of the Canary Islands to promote this test, with the collaboration of the Cabildo of Tenerife and all the municipalities on the island.
Public institutions, alongside all the island’s emergency and security services, as well as private enterprises in transport, tourism, and healthcare sectors, have actively participated in promoting this drill via their internal channels and social networks.
The Minister of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Water of the Government of the Canary Islands, Manuel Miranda, who was present during this new trial to evaluate the system’s function, expressed satisfaction with the simulation’s outcomes, which marks the completion of a schedule planned after trials conducted across all the islands. He noted that “the better it performs” and the more developed this alert system becomes, “the more effective it will be in the future” when it is needed in actual emergency situations.
He also emphasised that “prevention and conducting exercises like today’s, where the populace is informed in advance about what might occur during a genuine emergency, is vital within the civil protection and self-protection policies of the Government of the Canary Islands.”
Additionally, he affirmed that the Government will persist in enhancing this system, addressing any issues that may have been identified, and assessing the public’s response in anticipation of a regional test slated for November.
CITIZEN COLLABORATION
In her remarks, the president of the Cabildo, Rosa Dávila, underscored the significance of participating by completing the survey to ascertain the effectiveness of the trial, which has reached over one million residents on the island. She reminded that it serves as a highly beneficial tool during an actual emergency, as evidenced last year during the forest fire that impacted the island of Tenerife, when such a message was dispatched to confine or evacuate a specific segment of the affected population.
The mayor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, José Manuel Bermúdez, applauded the Government for this initiative, which “enables both institutions and the public to act with enhanced security and precision and allows citizens to receive real-time updates on self-protection measures against particular threats.”
This rehearsal featured two coordinated control points.
Firstly, the authorities monitored the exercise from Plaza del Chicharro in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where the Advanced Command Post (PMA) of the General Directorate of Emergencies was stationed, linked to the Emergency and Security Coordinating Centre 112 to provide updates on the trial’s progress.
From the Operational Room of 112 Canarias, the general director of Emergencies, Fernando Figuereo, oversaw and coordinated the drill alongside Montserrat Román, head of the Civil Protection and Emergency Response Service, and Moisés Sánchez, director of CECOES 112.
COORDINATION WITH CITY COUNCIL
The oversight was conducted in collaboration with the 31 municipalities of the island, councils, institutions, and services involved in this exercise.
The trial was organised by the regional General Directorate of Emergencies, CECOES 112 Canarias, and the General Directorate of Civil Protection of the State, with the cooperation of the Cabildo of Tenerife and the island’s 31 town councils.
In November, a comprehensive rehearsal will take place across the entire archipelago, positioning the islands as the first autonomous community to execute such a drill throughout its area.
Miranda expressed gratitude for the participation from the Cabildo of Tenerife, the 31 town councils, all the ministries of the Government of the Canary Islands, particularly those of Health, Education, Tourism, and Universities, who were instrumental in planning this impactful test, as well as the General Directorate of Civil Protection under the Ministry of the Interior, Aena, Port Authority, Puertos Canarios, 012, and all emergency and security services throughout the island.
In the private sector, he acknowledged the contributions of the three major telecommunications companies (Movistar, Vodafone, Orange) who have been involved from the outset in the development of these tests, along with the companies Binter, Fred Olsen, Naviera Armas Transmediterránea, Hospiten, Grupo Hospitalario Quirón, Ashotel, hotel associations, and the media that supported in disseminating details of the exercise.
This new tool, part of the National Civil Protection System, is now operational in the Canary Islands and has been actively utilised during the forest fires in La Palma and Tenerife last year. Continuous periodic testing at various locations in the archipelago aims to familiarise the public with this system.
Specifically, it serves as an additional warning system that complements conventional communication methods such as evacuation bulletins, the media, social networks, or public address systems.
