Mobile phones in south Tenerife will receive emergency alert tomorrow!

Residents and holidaymakers in Tenerife are being warned to expect loud mobile phone alerts tomorrow, Thursday 22nd October, as emergency services stage a major volcanic emergency simulation exercise.

The VOLCANEX Tenerife 2026 drill will focus on Guía de Isora in the south-west of the island, but the first ES-Alert message will target the whole of Tenerife.

This is a planned simulation, not an announcement of an eruption or a real volcanic emergency.

In a reminder issued today, the Cabildo confirmed that alerts will be sent between 9am and 2pm, Canary Islands time. Compatible phones connected to mobile networks within the coverage area, regardless of being Spanish, UK or from other countries, may sound and vibrate.

What will the alerts say?

Three messages are planned during the exercise.

The first will announce a simulated change to an orange volcanic alert level. It does not instruct the general population to evacuate or stay indoors, and requires no action from the public.

The second will target Guía de Isora and Santiago del Teide, announcing a simulated preventive evacuation of Chirche and Aripe. The third will mark the end of the exercise.

Mobile coverage does not follow municipal boundaries precisely. The second alert could therefore also reach Adeje, Los Silos, Buenavista del Norte and El Tanque.

Some messages may reach parts of Gran Canaria, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro, as well as surrounding sea channels. Receiving an alert outside its intended area does not mean evacuation instructions apply there.

What should you do when your phone sounds?

Read the message, which will be marked “PRUEBA”, meaning “TEST”, and press “Aceptar” to dismiss it. There is no need to reply or telephone 112 about the test.

Drivers should stop somewhere safe before checking their phones. Explain the exercise beforehand to anyone who might find the unexpected alarm distressing, particularly elderly relatives.

Messages may also appear in English on phones configured in a language other than Spanish. No app or registration is required, although reception depends on phone compatibility, settings and mobile coverage. Switched-off phones and those in flight mode will not receive the alert.

What else will happen during the drill?

VOLCANEX includes 28 exercises testing coordination between emergency services, scientists, public authorities and other organisations.

Alongside evacuation procedures, teams will practise helping vulnerable people, arranging temporary accommodation, protecting essential infrastructure and communicating reliable information.

The aim is to identify weaknesses and improve Tenerife’s preparedness. Residents and visitors should remember that tomorrow’s test messages and simulated emergency activity form part of that training.