Almería activates the red alert for rains and sends an ES-Alert to mobile phones due to the risk of floods

To activate the emergency phase, operational situation 1, the Junta de Andalucía must make a decision by the competent authority, based on the risk situation and the available response capacity, and record its activation. There is an important clarification: the requirements detailed below are expressly established in the Territorial Emergency Plan for Civil Protection of Andalusia (PTEAnd); the specific text of the Flood Plan that would confirm its particularities has not been found in the consulted sources.

1. Applicable legal framework

The Law 2/2002 on Emergency Management provides the regional framework. The PTEAnd, approved by the Decree 69/2024, constitutes the master plan to organize and integrate emergency planning in Andalusia. Therefore, its rules are relevant but should not be confused with a verification of the particular procedure of the special flood plan.

2. Material premise: emergency and control capacity

Section 5.1 of the PTEAnd establishes that the emergency phase originates when a phenomenon or accident occurs that causes damage, or when, for reasons of opportunity, the Plan Management so considers. Therefore, this framework does not necessarily require waiting for actual damage to exist.

For operational situation 1, the decisive criterion is that the emergency can be controlled:

• With the ordinary means and resources available in the Junta de Andalucía.
• Or with occasional supports whose mobilization does not require specific coordination of the central bodies of the National Civil Protection System.

The assessment must connect the characteristics and evolution of the emergency with the necessary resources. If it cannot be controlled, or there is a certain risk that it cannot be controlled with ordinary means and extraordinary resources may be needed, the PTEAnd contemplates operational situation 2.

3. Decision of the competent authority

In the PTEAnd, the declaration of operational situation 1 corresponds to the holder of the Ministry competent in civil protection, who exercises Plan Management. An agreement of the Government Council is not required for this situation.

That agreement corresponds to another figure: the declaration of emergency of general interest of Andalusia, provided for emergencies of special severity due to their actual or foreseeable dimensions. It should not be confused with operational situation 1.

4. Formal record of activation

According to section 5.2.1, activation is carried out by the Plan Management, or by order of it by the Emergency Management, through a recorded telephone call via CECEM 112 Andalucía. If force majeure occurs, another means that leaves reliable evidence of the act may be used.

The described procedure does not establish as a prior requirement a publication in the BOJA. The required record is articulated through that recorded communication or its exceptional alternative.

5. Consequences and limits

Activation entails the total or partial deployment of the plan structure and information to the population. Management must coordinate actions and communication with the involved authorities.

A weather warning alone does not equate to activating the plan. In the examined sections, there is no automatic threshold of rainfall, flow, or warning color: a decision by the competent authority according to the previous criteria is required. To assess the legality of a specific activation of the Flood Plan, its specific regulation must also be contrasted.

The First Vice President and Minister of Presidency, Health, and Emergencies holds two responsibilities: to substitute the President of the Junta when appropriate and to lead a department with political, health, institutional, and security competencies. It is advisable to distinguish the functions of the Vice Presidency from the powers of the Ministry, which are exercised through its management bodies and attached entities.

1. Functions as First Vice President

Article 1 of the Presidential Decree 9/2026, of July 9, links the First Vice Presidency to this Ministry. It expressly attributes the substitution of the Presidency in cases of absence, illness, or temporary impediment, in accordance with the Law of the Government of Andalusia.

Additionally, they may perform the functions entrusted by the President. Therefore, the rank of vice president does not automatically imply assuming all the competencies of other ministries: their intervention depends on normative attributions and presidential assignments.

2. Presidency and institutional coordination

Article 3 of the cited decree and Decree 189/2026, on organic structure, of July 30, assign the department:

• Political, technical, and protocol assistance and general advice to the Presidency.
• Relations of the Government Council with Parliament, the Government Secretariat, and the presidency and assistance to the General Commission of Deputy Ministers.
• Institutional communication, informational coordination, the audiovisual sector, and the Junta's presence on the Internet and social networks.
• Legal advice, representation and judicial defense of the regional administration, and publication of the BOJA.
• Transparency and open government; relations with the Andalusian Ombudsman, Advisory Council, Court of Auditors, Audiovisual Council, and Transparency and Data Protection Council.

3. Health, public health, and consumer affairs

It is responsible for executing health policy guidelines, planning assistance and distributing resources among programs and territories. It also exercises high management, inspection, and evaluation of centers, services, and health activities.

The scope includes public health and health promotion, early care, consumer affairs, drug addiction and other addictions, and management of therapeutic communities. The organization also incorporates areas of mental health, care and social-health care, humanization and quality, research and training, digital health, and pharmaceutical regulation. These tasks are distributed among specialized bodies, under the superior direction of the minister.

4. Interior, emergencies, and civil protection

It assumes interior and security, regional police, and coordination of local police; electoral processes, citizen participation, and local popular consultations; public shows, recreational activities, and bullfighting events.

It also has competencies in emergencies and civil protection, including combating environmental emergencies caused by forest fires, respecting the attributions of other departments. The Andalusian Emergency Agency is directly attached through the Ministry's holder.

5. External action and other competencies

It coordinates external action, matters related to the European Union and its institutions, interregional and cross-border cooperation, and policies for Andalusian communities abroad. It also promotes dialogue with economic and social agents, coordinates competencies on victims of terrorism, fosters relations with religious confessions, and exercises the powers provided regarding appointments in port authorities.

6. Organization to exercise these functions

It has two deputy ministries: Presidency and Health and Consumer Affairs, as well as general secretariats, general directorates, and the eight Government Delegations. Among its attached entities are the SAS, the Andalusian Health Institute, the Emergency Agency, RTVA, FAISEM, Progreso y Salud, the Andalusian Studies Center, and functionally, the Andalusian School of Public Health. The holder retains the department's functions not expressly attributed to another body.

All autonomous communities have ES-Alert, not only those that have used it in recent storms. Among those that have sent warnings for meteorological emergencies are Catalonia, Andalusia, Galicia, Murcia, and the Balearic Islands, as well as the Valencian Community; Madrid also has a documented operational precedent, although older.

They are not different regional systems: ES-Alert, known as reverse 112, is a state tool integrated into the National Alert Network. It became fully operational in February 2023 and allows sending messages with sound and vibration to mobiles located in an area, without installing an application, as explained by Demócrata.

Recent meteorological activations

• Catalonia. On October 3, 2026, the Generalitat sent an ES-Alert due to the forecast of torrential rains and accompanied the warning with mobility and activity restrictions from 8:00 p.m. in areas of Barcelona, Tarragona, and Girona. The objective was to communicate the measures also to residents and visitors not following the information channels. This is reported by this information from Demócrata.
• Andalusia. On September 16, 2026, the Junta sent a warning to the Levante of Almería due to flood risk, according to Demócrata. It had already used the system during the October 2024 DANA and reactivated it on November 3 of that year in Almerian municipalities under red alert. Then it disseminated instructions in Spanish and English to exercise extreme caution and avoid travel, as confirmed by the Junta de Andalucía.
• Galicia. On January 25, 2026, the Directorate General of Emergencies and Interior sent an ES-Alert to the interior of Pontevedra due to flood risk from the precipitation forecast for the following day. It recommended avoiding unnecessary travel and staying away from rivers and flood-prone areas. The episode also led to the suspension of classes and school transport, according to Demócrata.
• Region of Murcia. On December 28, 2025, it was activated in Beniel due to the risk of overflow of the canal connected to the Segura, in the northern area of the municipality and the surroundings of Santomera towards Orihuela. The message asked to stay away from flood-prone areas during an episode with a red alert for rains in the Vega del Segura. See the episode information.
• Balearic Islands. During DANA Alice, on October 11, 2025, Emergencies sent warnings to Formentera at 16:58, to Ibiza at 17:22, and to areas of Llevant, northeast, and north Mallorca at 18:26. They warned of the danger of rains, in parallel with the activation of the Inunbal Plan, according to Demócrata.

Other precedents and an important distinction

Madrid used ES-Alert during the DANA of September 3, 2023, as confirmed by an official regional communication. It is a precedent, not a recent activation. In the Valencian Community, new sends for floods are recorded on September 16 and October 1, 2026.

It is advisable to separate availability, drills, and real use. For example, Euskadi conducted a test in Balmaseda on October 2, 2025: it evidences a trial, not an activation due to a storm. Likewise, a weather warning or the activation of a flood plan does not by itself equate to sending ES-Alert.