The Cabildo of Tenerife is conducting a volcanic risk simulation exercise this Friday, starting at 08:00 hours, in the municipality of Garachico, located in the northern part of the island. This initiative forms part of the European EU-Modex programme aimed at emergency protection. The exercise will involve around 1,000 security and emergency personnel, including the Civil Guard, National Police, Fire Brigade, Local Police, forest agents, and Red Cross volunteers.
The simulation aims to test various response protocols in the event of a volcanic emergency. This includes evacuation, confinement, resource management, institutional coordination, and communication with the public. According to the Cabildo of Tenerife, it involves institutions, security forces, emergency services, and residents of the affected municipalities.
Experts and emergency specialists, along with members of the State Security Forces and regional services, will tackle different scenarios, exercises, and incidents across five scenarios to assess their responses, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the system.
Specifically, exercises will be conducted on Coordination and Management at the Advanced Command Post (PMA), safeguarding the Convent of San Francisco, ammonia leak in a cold chamber, search for a missing person in a ravine, evacuation of individuals with reduced mobility, search and reconnaissance, volcanic gases, essential basic services, evacuation of the elderly centre, evacuation of animals, volunteer assistance point, evacuation of non-resident individuals and Drone Coordination.
The operation will commence early in the morning, with an official alert message (ES-ALERT) being sent to the entire population of the island at 09:00 hours, coordinated with the Government of the Canary Islands.
From that moment, events will accelerate and culminate in a simulated volcanic eruption. Fieldwork will involve actors and residents engaging in various exercises and incidents in the vicinity of the town centre of Garachico, concluding this action at 14:00 hours.
ES-ALERT
The Cabildo of Tenerife reminds that the ES-ALERT system is the official emergency communication tool that allows direct messages to be sent to the mobile phones of the affected population. Its primary aim is to inform the public promptly about evacuations, confinements, or other security incidents, ensuring that citizens receive clear and timely instructions.
During the volcanic eruption simulation in Garachico, it will be activated to notify residents of this municipality and El Tanque about the scheduled tests. However, it will also alert the entire population of the island, emphasising that this is a simulated exercise with no real cause for alarm or danger.
At 09:00 hours, the alert will sound for the population of Garachico to commence evacuation; at 09:20 hours, it will alert all residents of Tenerife; at 12:00 hours, residents of El Tanque will be notified of the beginning of confinement; at 13:00 hours, El Tanque will receive another notification to end confinement, and at 13:00 hours, Garachico will be notified to conclude the evacuation.
Monitoring the Simulation
The entire simulation will be broadcast live from 08:00 to 14:00 hours through the following channels: – Streaming on YouTube, on the official Cabildo de Tenerife YouTube channel.
Residents of Garachico will also be able to follow the simulation live on large screens set up in Plaza de los Amantes, where they can watch the various exercises in real-time.
Within the framework of this simulation, the Cabildo of Tenerife activated the Insular Action Plan for the Volcanic Risk of Tenerife on Wednesday, declaring a simulated pre-alert situation at 13:00 hours in Garachico, Icod de los Vinos, El Tanque, Los Silos, Buenavista del Norte, Guía de Isora, and Santiago del Teide.
Simulating a Volcanic Risk
Thus, in this hypothetical volcanic risk scenario, a level 3 response would be activated on the island. This entails the closure of road access to the Teide National Park and its surrounding forest areas, the Rural Park of Teno, paths, and trails, along with a ban on hunting activities.
As the exercise progresses, regional emergency services reported on Wednesday that the alert level for this “simulated volcanic risk” had risen to yellow in response to increased seismic activity. This serves as a signal for the population to prepare for a possible eruption.
The volcanic alert system in the Canary Islands is a framework used to inform the public about the level of risk posed by potential volcanic activity. Through its colour code, it indicates the prevailing situation and the necessary preventive measures.
Thus, this Friday, due to this simulation, this alert level will escalate to red, representing a ‘simulated’ emergency situation. This signifies that a volcanic eruption is occurring or is imminent, requiring immediate protective measures, including evacuations in at-risk areas.
