Andalucía to stage biggest emergency drill ever held in Spain: this is what you should know

Andalucía has become a pioneer in the development of large-scale practice drills for an emergency situations. As a result, the region will host the largest simulation in Spanish history on 20 November in Cadiz, an exercise designed to test response mechanisms in the event of a natural disaster, according to regional health minister, Antonio Sanz, whose ministry also includes responsibility for the emergency services.

The drill, called Response25, will involve more than 20,000 people, including 1,000 security and emergency personnel and over 19,000 members of the public, businesses, hotels and educational centres.

The emergency drill is intended to test the region's capabilities in the event of an earthquake similar to the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 that struck with a magnitude of 7.6 southwest of Cape St Vincent. Such an earthquake would trigger a tsunami warning along the Andalusian coast.

The regional minister responsible for such emergencies pointed out that "we need to prepare ourselves for the worst-case scenario, although we hope we never have to experience it because it is not a matter of just getting lucky, it is work, foresight, planning, coordination and loyal cooperation between all institutions to provide the best service to the people of Andalucía".

Antonio Sanz stated that the tsunami warning will sound around 10.03am and, from that moment on, the entire emergency response and coordination system will be tested. This includes Cadiz city's response to a tsunami, the response times of emergency services and the population's reaction to this type of danger. The activation of mass warning systems like ES-Alert will also be tested, as well as other alarm-raising systems such as public address systems and the ringing of bells.

Other capabilities will also be tested, such as mechanisms for safeguarding cultural assets, as well as the Pemea (Pan-European Mobile Emergency Application) system, which allows any application developed under this standard to communicate directly with the 112 emergency call number. Moreover, the 112 messaging system via chat for people with disabilities, such as the hearing impaired, will be tested.

Vertical and horizontal evacuation capacities and times, along with the distance from the flood zone, will be analysed and evaluated, as will the functioning of communications between the various governing bodies and with the participating operational teams and businesses.

The regional minister further announced that Andalucía's emergency plan for tsunami risk will be activated, noting that it was the first of its kind to be developed in Spain and one of the most comprehensive and unprecedented in Europe.

The risk analysis within this plan studies how different tsunamis would affect the Andalusian coast. This work has also served as the basis for local planning, defining evacuation routes and meeting points. This planning was based on the most unfavourable tsunami scenarios, both in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

The plan includes the mapping of hazards, the points of impact where people are likely to be swept away, arrival times of the tsunami and a minute-by-minute estimate of its flow inland, as well as a map of building vulnerabilities. According to Sanz, "there are no other building vulnerability maps with this level of detail and, in this respect, we have been extremely innovative. In fact, several regions have shown interest in the work done."

The mapping of all buildings located along the entire Andalusian coast, from Ayamonte in Huelva to Pulpí in Almeria, represents the first large-scale application, both nationally and internationally, of the relative vulnerability index of buildings for such disaster preparedness.