HUNDREDS of thousands of people along the Cadiz coastline received an emergency alert this morning as Andalucia played host to the largest tsunami drill ever carried out in Spain.
At 10.14am, an ES ALERT warning system message was sent to all mobile phones mimicking what would happen if a deadly wave was about to strike – similar to the one that flattened Lisbon in 1755, killing an estimated 50,000 people.
In English and Spanish, the text read: “DRILL DRILL TSUNAMI WARNING THAT MAY AFFECT THE ATLANTIC COAST, MOVE AWAY FROM THE BEACH TOWARDS THE ESTABLISHED AREAS AS MEETING POINTS OR AT A HEIGHT HIGHER THAN 3 FLOORS.”
Approximately 20,000 people participated in a series of drills designed to test the region’s response to a possible tsunami – including emergency services personnel, students, hospitality staff and the general public.
The simulation covered five different scenarios in various locations.
Around the historic centre of Cadiz, such as Plaza de San Antonio, drills focused on evacuating people inland or to a safe height in a process known as a ‘vertical evacuation’.
On the beachfront at Playa de Santa Maria del Mar, emergency services practiced rescuing bathers or surfers caught in the water and quickly evacuating the beach.
Clips posted by Andalucia’s emergency agency on social media show medical personnel hauling volunteers off the sand on stretchers.
At the Museo de Cadiz, tests were conducted to see whether assets of cultural heritage could be protected if a major tsunami rolled in.
Damage and evacuation drills also took place in the port area of Zona Franca, while military and emergency services took part in a search-and-rescue exercise in the nearby town of El Puerto de Santa Maria.
In the event of a real tsunami, the public are urged to move immediately to higher floors or safe inland points, avoid lifts and cars entirely, help anyone struggling, and keep a battery-powered radio handy.
One thing they should never do is lean out of windows to see what is happening, and avoid calling 112 unless there is an immediate life-threatening emergency.
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Authorities stress that the risk is theoretical but the impact would be enormous.
A major quake off Portugal’s Atlantic shelf could generate massive waves hitting parts of the Andalucian coast in under an hour.
Officials say the drill is essential because Andalucia hosts some of Spain’s busiest tourist resorts, where many residents and visitors would have little idea how to react.
The drill is the fourth major emergency simulation carried out by Andalucia since 2021, but by far the most ambitious.
READ MORE: WATCH: Beach chaos after ‘mini tsunami’ surprises bathers in Cadiz, southwestern Spain
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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