tenerife volcanex 2026 volcanic drill

Tenerife stages Spain’s biggest volcanic eruption drill

Compiled with the help of artificial intelligence, based on Spanish-language information. Source below the article.

Tenerife prepares for Spain’s largest volcanic drill

Tenerife is preparing to deploy a major operation this Thursday, 22 October, during the largest volcanic eruption simulation ever staged in Spain and the second held on the island, following the Garachico exercise in September 2025. On this occasion several municipalities are involved: Adeje, Guía de Isora and Santiago del Teide. In total, 28 different exercises will be carried out, putting a range of situations within a volcanic emergency to the test.

A crisis before the eruption

Unlike the EU MODEX Tenerife 2025 exercise in Garachico, VOLCANEX 2026 will not address the eruption itself but will instead recreate the phase preceding a volcanic crisis, based on an increase in activity that would affect several municipalities in the south-west of Tenerife. At that point, according to the planned scenario, the volcanic traffic-light system will move to orange, on alert, and preventive measures will be prepared, without a general evacuation order or confinement for the island.

The drill, organised by the Cabildo de Tenerife, will take place mainly in the municipality of Guía de Isora, although other nearby municipalities will carry out related exercises. The Cabildo de Tenerife, which is directing coordination of the operation, aims through this exercise to evaluate the capacity to respond to a real emergency.

Preventive evacuation and added complications

One of the main exercises will be the preventive evacuation of the settlements of Chirche and Aripe, in Guía de Isora. The scenario will also incorporate incidents designed to test the response to difficulties that can arise in a real evacuation, such as a person refusing to leave their home or the appearance of a bedridden person who was not initially on the census.

VOLCANEX will include exercises for evacuating elderly people and those with reduced mobility, as well as the evacuation of tourists and non-residents staying in hotels. The evacuation of animals, the mobilisation of volunteers, the protection of historical and cultural heritage, the management of critical infrastructure, the continuity of essential services and the setting up of temporary and permanent shelters will also be tested.

Among the planned scenarios are the Hogar Santa Gema in Santiago del Teide; Las Terrazas de Abama; the Los Olivos sports centre in Adeje; and the settlements of Chirche and Aripe.

Testing coordination and alert systems

The 28 exercises will allow authorities to evaluate coordination between the Scientific Committee, the PEVOLCA Steering Committee, the CECOES 112, the CECOPIN, the CECOPAL bodies and the Advanced Command Post. The operation of the ES-Alert system, evacuation and accommodation procedures, the response to damage to buildings caused by seismic activity and the capacity of supply companies to maintain continuity of basic services will also be checked.

VOLCANEX will additionally incorporate tools such as a Property Impact Verification Service using drones and a Citizen Assistance Office, designed to offer information, guidance and support to the population during an emergency. The exercise will feature a Media Reception Centre to simulate press conferences and a specific exercise in managing hoaxes and disinformation, intended to check the ability of the authorities to detect false information and ensure that the public has official, verified and comprehensible information.

Around 400 figurants and live coverage

The drill will involve approximately 400 figurants, who will help recreate situations close to those that could arise during a real emergency. Perimeters and access controls will be established at the various scenarios during the exercise. Two screens will also be set up, in the Plaza de Garachico and the Plaza de la Luz, to make it easier to follow the drill live.

In Adeje, the Municipal Emergency Plan will be activated at pre-alert level as a neighbouring municipality and will later be raised to alert level due to volcanic risk. Among the planned actions, the Cabildo’s Directorate-General of Security will send an alarm signal to mobile phones across the island, an ES-Alert, plus a second and third signal solely in the municipality of Guía de Isora, which will probably also reach Adeje.

Adeje focuses on the tourism side of the drill

The role of the municipality, as explained by the town hall, will focus on the tourism side of the simulation. The exercise includes the partial evacuation of a hotel in Guía de Isora and the transfer of those evacuated to the classification centre, which will be set up in the Las Torres pavilion.

Around 170 schoolchildren from schools in Guía de Isora will arrive at about 9.30am to take part in the exercise. Triage will be carried out at the centre, with the collaboration of several consulates and interpreters, and Adeje town hall will be responsible for supplies. Following that classification, those who choose to travel will be transferred (simulated) to the port or airport, while those who remain on the island will receive social assistance. For their reception, Adeje town hall will work with hotels in the municipality, in coordination with Turismo de Tenerife and the Cabildo, which will hold command of the drill.

Adeje’s Local Police will be responsible for closing and monitoring the road during the exercise, and four of its officers will serve in Guía de Isora on secondment. The exercise will end at around 12.30pm and, once concluded, a joint evaluation will be carried out between the participating authorities and services to determine which procedures have worked, identify points for improvement and incorporate the conclusions into Tenerife’s emergency planning and protocols.

Three ES-Alert messages on Thursday

The Emergency and Security Coordination Centre (CECOES) 112 will issue three ES-Alert messages this Thursday between 9am and 2pm, so people may receive them at the time of sending, or when they enter their operator’s coverage area if they were outside it. However, they will not receive it if their phone is switched off or in aeroplane mode.

The first alert has the island of Tenerife as its target area, although it could also reach some areas of Gran Canaria, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro, as well as the inter-island sea channels. This alert will communicate the move to the orange volcanic traffic light as set out in the Special Plan for Civil Protection and Emergency Attention for Volcanic Risk in the Canary Islands (PEVOLCA). However, it does not in any case imply the start of an eruption or evacuation or confinement measures for the population of Tenerife and therefore requires no action from citizens.

The target area of the second ES-Alert message covers the municipalities of Guía de Isora and Santiago del Teide and will report the simulation of the preventive evacuation of the Chirche and Aripe areas exclusively. Nevertheless, it may reach the municipalities of Adeje, Los Silos, Buenavista del Norte and El Tanque, as well as certain areas of La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro and the corresponding sea channels. The third message will announce the end of the drill.

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