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Andalucia will be staging the largest ever tsunami drill in Spain on Thursday, and hundreds of thousands of people living along the Cadiz coast will receive emergency alerts via their mobile phones.
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.
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Residents of Algeciras will be hearing 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.
The event will be attended by more than 20,000 participants, including over 19,000 local residents, schools, businesses, and hotels.
Local councils, in expat-heavy regions such as La Linea, will activate emergency plans and open local command centres.
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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.
If a real tsunami occurs, people are advised to immediately move to higher floors, or to safe areas inland. They should also avoid cars and lifts, assist anyone who is struggling, and have a radio with batteries handy.
Avoid calling 112 except in an emergency.
In several zones, the police, firefighters, and Proteccion Civil are going to practice vertical evacuations, evacuations inland and mass-alerts using loudspeakers and church bells.
Authorities emphasize that while the risk may be theoretical, its impact is enormous.
Waves from a major earthquake near the Portuguese shelf on the Atlantic Ocean could reach parts of Andalucia in less than one hour.
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The drill is important because Andalucia has some of the busiest tourist destinations in Spain, and many visitors and residents would not know how to respond.
The Junta insists that preparation – not panic – is the goal. The alert sent out on Thursday will make it clear that this is a test.
Residents of risk zones need not take any action when the alert is sounded, except to remain calm unless they’re participating in a planned evacuation.
The councils urge residents to alert elderly neighbors who might be startled when they hear the phone alarm.
Andalucia’s fourth major emergency simulation since 2021 is by far its 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.
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