Earthquakes in Spain: Who does what in the face of a seismic event

Based on the information available in the consulted official regulations and sources, there is no record that the Junta de Andalucía has made public a specific schedule or an already identified file for the revision of the Earthquake Risk Emergency Plan in Andalusia. It is known that the plan is operational (it was activated at operational level 1 after the recent magnitude 5 earthquake in Granada) and that any approval or update must follow the general procedure established by Andalusian and state civil protection regulations.

1. What the regulations say about how these plans are approved

The key piece in Andalusia is Law 2/2002, on Emergency Management in Andalusia, whose text we have reviewed in detail. It implies:

• Emergency plans (territorial, special, specific, and self-protection) are the instrument that sets the organization and mechanisms of action against serious risks.
• The Territorial Emergency Plan of Andalusia acts as a master plan: it sets the guidelines for the preparation, approval, and homologation of other plans (articles on territorial and special plans).
• The special emergency plans, including those required by the Basic Civil Protection Directive against Earthquake Risk, must:
  • Be prepared by the competent Ministry in civil protection.
  • Be approved by the Government Council of the Junta de Andalucía.
  • Be homologated according to state regulations (National Civil Protection Commission).

This scheme is clearly seen in recent analogous Andalusian regulations:

• Decree 127/2023, of June 12, which approves the Tsunami Risk Emergency Plan in Andalusia, establishes that the plan:
  • Is prepared by the Ministry competent in civil protection.
  • Is approved by Decree of the Government Council.
  • Requires homologation by the National Civil Protection Commission (art. 13.4 and 20.a of Law 2/2002).
• The new Territorial Emergency Plan of Civil Protection of Andalusia, approved by Decree 69/2024 (for which we have consulted the error correction), reinforces its role as a framework for integrating special plans.

At the state level, the Basic Civil Protection Planning Directive against Earthquake Risk (published by Resolution of May 5, 1995, and amended in 2004) and the State Civil Protection Plan against Earthquake Risk (Resolution of March 29, 2010) require communities with seismic hazard — including all Andalusian provinces — to have coherent autonomous special plans within that framework.

2. Expected next steps to approve or update the seismic plan

Although no specific resolution in process has been identified to revise the Earthquake Risk Emergency Plan, the cited regulations allow describing with reasonable precision the steps Andalusia would have to follow if it decides to approve a new plan or update the current one:

2.1. Technical and coordination phase

• Risk review: based on information from the National Geographic Institute and the Andalusian Institute of Geophysics, updating hazard maps, vulnerability, and damage scenarios in Andalusian seismic zones.
• Drafting the draft of the new plan or its update by the Ministry competent in civil protection (currently Presidency, Interior, Social Dialogue, and Administrative Simplification), supported by the Andalusian Emergency Agency and other operational services.
• Alignment with the Territorial Emergency Plan of Civil Protection of Andalusia approved in 2024 and with the State Earthquake Risk Plan, to ensure coherence of structures, operational levels, and coordination mechanisms.

2.2. Reports and participation

• Internal reports from legal services and affected ministries (infrastructure, health, education, culture, etc.).
• Mandatory report from the Andalusian Civil Protection Commission, which evaluates the plan's content from the perspective of autonomous civil protection.
• According to the practice followed in other special plans (forest fires, tsunamis, hazardous materials), a public information and hearing phase to local entities and involved sectors is common, although specific details are set in each file.

2.3. Formal approval and homologation

• Submission of the final text to the Government Council, which would approve it by Decree (as in the case of the tsunami plan).
• Publication in the BOJA of the decree and, at least, the normative part of the plan; operational annexes may be made available on the Junta's portal, as is already done with other special plans.
• Homologation by the National Civil Protection Commission, required by Law 2/2002 and by the basic state regulations for special earthquake risk plans.

2.4. Implementation and reviews

• Implementation: specific training for emergency services, updating 112 protocols, preparation or adaptation of local plans in municipalities with higher risk, information campaigns for citizens, and conducting drills (such as the one carried out at the Antequera Dolmens with activation of operational level 2 of the seismic plan).
• Periodic review: although Law 2/2002 does not set a fixed cadence, experience in other Andalusian special plans (forest fires, tsunamis, hazardous materials transport) shows reviews and modifications when:
  • Basic state regulations change.
  • Risk analyses are updated.
  • New bodies such as the Andalusian Emergency Agency are created.
  • Drills or real emergencies reveal necessary improvements.

3. What can be expected after the recent earthquakes

Recent news only confirms that the Andalusian seismic plan is in force and has been activated at operational level 1 after the Granada earthquake, but they do not mention a specific reform file. Based on experience in other emergencies (storms, fires, tsunamis), it is reasonable to expect that if the Junta decides to strengthen the plan, it will do so following the above steps, with special attention to:

• Updating risk scenarios in Granada, Málaga, and Cádiz.
• Strengthening damage assessment protocols (volunteer architects, etc.).
• Greater coordination with local and sectoral plans (education, heritage, critical infrastructure).

In the absence of additional official announcements, these are today the expected regulatory and operational steps for any approval or update of the Earthquake Risk Emergency Plan in Andalusia.

The Ministry of the Interior is, according to current legislation, the “highest authority in civil protection matters” within the General State Administration and assumes the fundamental responsibility of the National Civil Protection System. These competencies are mainly regulated in Law 17/2015, of July 9, on the National Civil Protection System (text in the BOE) and in the Royal Decrees structuring the Ministry of the Interior (among others, Royal Decree 734/2020, of August 4, and its amendments by Royal Decree 146/2021).

Law 17/2015 dedicates its Title IV to the competencies of the bodies of the General State Administration in civil protection and emphasizes that it has been decided to “continue assigning fundamental responsibility to the Ministry of the Interior, under the political direction and superior coordination of the Government.” The text itself adds that the head of the Department “will be the highest authority in the matter and […] is assigned all those specific competencies that allow exercising it.” This places the Ministry of the Interior as the apex of command and state coordination in civil protection emergencies, without prejudice to autonomous and local competencies.

In terms of planning and regulation, Law 17/2015 assigns the Ministry of the Interior key functions:

• The preparation and submission to the Government of the State General Civil Protection Plan, which “develops the organization and procedures of the General State Administration” to support other administrations and exercise direction and coordination in emergencies of national interest. Its approval corresponds to the Government, “at the proposal of the Minister of the Interior.”
• The proposal to the Government of the Basic Civil Protection Standard, which is approved by royal decree “at the proposal of the head of the Ministry of the Interior” and after a report from the National Civil Protection Council. This standard sets guidelines for risk identification, plan content, and general action criteria.
• Determinant participation in defining the National Civil Protection Strategy, initially published by Order PCI/488/2019 (Strategy 2019) and updated by Order PJC/1430/2024 (Strategy 2024), which develops the state policy in the matter.

Regarding prevention and financing, Law 17/2015 creates the Emergency Prevention Fund, “managed by the Ministry of the Interior,” funded from the General State Budgets. This fund finances activities such as:

• Hazard, vulnerability, and risk analysis.
• Preparation of civil protection risk maps.
• Awareness and preventive information programs for citizens.
• Prevention education programs in schools.

The Ministry of the Interior may also sign collaboration instruments with other ministries, administrations, and public or private entities to develop these activities, financing them fully or partially from the Fund.

A central competence of the Department is the management of information and alert systems. Law 17/2015 provides that:

• The National Civil Protection Alert Network is created as a communication system for emergency warnings to competent authorities “so that essential public services and citizens are informed of any emergency threat.”
• “The management of the Network will correspond to the Ministry of the Interior, through the National Center for Monitoring and Coordination of Civil Protection Emergencies,” which acts as the state operational coordination center, connected with autonomous centers and international mechanisms (including the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism).

From the perspective of inter-administrative coordination, the law reinforces the role of the Ministry of the Interior:

• Government Delegates are recognized as “coordinators of the actions of the bodies and services of the General State Administration, under the instructions of the Ministry of the Interior” in civil protection emergencies.
• The Ministry participates and plays a leading role in the National Civil Protection Council, a cooperation body between the State, autonomous communities, and local administration to coordinate policies and plans.
• In emergencies declared of national interest, the State General Plan – at the proposal of the Interior – foresees the direction and coordination of all Public Administrations by the General State Administration.

Finally, Law 17/2015 expressly mentions the National Civil Protection School as a key element for specialized training of all system agents, and foresees the participation of Security Forces and Corps, Armed Forces, and notably, the Military Emergency Unit. The involvement of these actors is framed within coordination mechanisms promoted by the Ministry of the Interior, which must ensure their interoperability and integration into state and territorial plans.

The current president of the Junta de Andalucía is Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, known as Juanma Moreno. He has led the Andalusian Government since January 18, 2019, and after his latest investiture in July 2026, he is undertaking his third consecutive term at the head of the community. He is also president of the Andalusian People's Party since March 2, 2014.

Born in Barcelona on May 1, 1970, his family moved to Málaga a few months later, so his political career is closely linked to Andalusia, particularly the province of Málaga, according to the official biography cited by the Junta and reported by media such as Demócrata (electoral profile).

Beginnings in New Generations and career in the PP

Moreno has built almost his entire career within the People's Party. He took his first steps in New Generations (NNGG), the party's youth organization, where he advanced rapidly:

• 1993: president of New Generations of the PP in Málaga.
• 1995: councilor in the Málaga City Council, his first relevant institutional position.
• 1997-2001: national president of New Generations of the PP, placing him already in the party's first organic line at the state level.

Simultaneously, he held various positions in the national structure of the PP, with responsibilities in new technologies, municipal politics, and autonomous and local politics. Institutionally, he was elected deputy in the Congress in 2000 and remained in the Lower House until 2011, which gave him experience in national politics and state parliamentary dynamics.

Stage in the Government of Spain

In 2011, during Mariano Rajoy's Government, Moreno was appointed Secretary of State for Social Services and Equality. From that position, according to the biography collected by Demócrata, he promoted initiatives such as:

• The National Strategy for the Eradication of Violence against Women.
• The General Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
• The National Plan for Childhood and Adolescence.
• The National Plan for Social Inclusion.

This stage strengthened his profile in social policies and gave him national projection before his definitive leap to Andalusian leadership.

Leadership of the Andalusian PP and arrival at the Presidency of the Junta

On March 2, 2014, he was elected president of the Andalusian People's Party, a responsibility in which he has been re-elected several times, the last by acclamation in 2025, with nearly unanimous internal support (regional congress report).

After the 2018 Andalusian elections, where the PSOE lost the Junta for the first time after almost four decades, Moreno was invested and became the first non-socialist president of Andalusia. His first government was born from an agreement with Ciudadanos and with external parliamentary support from Vox, marking the start of the so-called “change of cycle” in Andalusian politics.

In the 2022 elections, he achieved a historic absolute majority for the PP-A, with 58 deputies, consolidating the party as the hegemonic force in the community. His profile was then associated with three axes: moderation, management, and stability, and he presented himself as a leader capable of attracting centrist votes and former socialist voters.

Third term and pact with Vox

In the Andalusian elections of May 17, 2026, the PP won again and improved votes compared to 2022 but lost the absolute majority. Moreno's investiture required negotiation with Vox, which finally resulted in a coalition government agreement, with this formation entering the executive and a vice presidency for Manuel Gavira, as detailed by Demócrata (investiture report).

Moreno was invested again and took office in July 2026, starting his third term at the head of the Junta, now supported by a majority of 68 seats (53 from the PP and 15 from Vox). In his speech and inauguration, he claimed the so-called “Andalusian way”, a way of doing politics he defines as “inclusive and non-exclusionary”, based on agreement and institutional stability (inauguration act).

In summary, Juanma Moreno is a leader with a long trajectory within the PP, who has passed through municipal politics, the Congress, and the central Government before consolidating as president of the Junta de Andalucía, a position he has held uninterruptedly since 2019 and now faces in his third consecutive term.