The orange alert forces the suspension of activities at the Feria de Murcia: what is canceled and what is still on today

A city council can and should suspend public activities in the event of a weather alert when there is a risk to people. Although each municipality specifies the details in its ordinances and emergency plans, the legal and procedural framework is quite homogeneous throughout Spain.

1. Usual legal basis

The basis for suspending events usually relies on three pillars:

• Civil protection and emergencies: territorial and municipal civil protection plans foresee the adoption of prevention and evacuation measures in the face of adverse phenomena (heavy rain, wind, snowfalls, extreme heat, etc.).
• Citizen security and administrative police: the city council is responsible for maintaining order and security in public roads and municipal facilities, which includes preventing gatherings in unsafe places.
• Local regulations: ordinances on the use of public spaces, the holding of public shows and recreational activities, as well as the specifications or agreements for organizing festivals and events, usually foresee causes for suspension due to force majeure or risk to safety.

2. Who is competent in the city council?

In practice, the decision is almost always made by the mayor, as the highest municipal authority and director of local civil protection. They can do so:

• Ex officio (on their own initiative) based on warnings from AEMET or the autonomous community.
• At the proposal of civil protection services, local police, or technical services.

In large municipalities, it can be delegated to a councilor with responsibilities in security, festivals, or emergencies, but the decision is still formalized through a mayoral decree or delegated councilor decree.

3. Type of resolution and minimum content

It is common to issue a mayoral decree (or equivalent resolution) that contains at least:

• Factual background: reference to meteorological warnings (yellow, orange, red levels), technical reports, and affected activities.
• Legal grounds: citation of civil protection regulations, municipal ordinances, and the mayor's competence to guarantee safety.
• Operative part:
  • Suspend, postpone, or limit specific activities (festivals, concerts, sports events, markets, etc.).
  • Establish, if applicable, new tentative dates or refer rescheduling to a later agreement.
  • Set complementary measures: park closures, facility shutdowns, traffic restrictions, prohibition of using outdoor sports facilities, etc.
  • Order the dissemination of the agreement and notification to organizers and involved bodies.

4. Necessary technical reports

Although in an emergency it is possible to act quickly, it is highly recommended (and in many cases a consolidated practice) to obtain reports from:

• Civil protection / emergencies: risk assessment, possible scenarios, and preventive measures.
• Local police: impact on mobility, safety of gatherings, access for emergency services.
• Municipal technical services: stability of temporary structures (stages, tents), trees, floodability of areas, condition of sports or leisure facilities.

These reports serve as legal support for the decree and help justify the proportionality of the measure.

5. Communication to citizens and other administrations

Once the agreement is adopted, the city council must:

• Inform the public through all available channels: municipal website, social networks, official announcements, local media, loudspeakers if available, etc.
• Notify the organizers of the affected events (associations, entertainment companies, sports clubs), with proof of receipt.
• Coordinate with the autonomous community and the Government Delegation/Subdelegation when territorial plans are activated or it affects infrastructures under their competence.
• Convey instructions to municipal services: cleaning, maintenance, local police, staff of sports and cultural facilities.

6. Suspend, postpone, or limit: practical differences

• Suspend: the event does not take place. It is usually used with high-level alerts or when the risk is certain and serious. It implies activating force majeure clauses and sometimes compensations or ticket refunds.
• Postpone: the event is moved to another date. It requires coordination with organizers and, if it is a municipal competence, new reservation of spaces and complementary communications.
• Limit or adapt: reduce capacity, change schedule to avoid the highest risk periods, move to indoor venues, or modify routes (for example, in races or parades). It is useful when the risk is moderate but manageable with preventive measures.

In all cases, the guiding criterion must be prevention and proportionality: justifying that the measure is necessary to protect people and that it does not go beyond what is essential according to the weather alert and available technical reports.

In Spain, the municipal Emergency Committee (sometimes called Crisis Committee or Municipal Operational Coordination Center, CECOPAL) is the body that assists the mayor and the civil protection officer in the direction and coordination of the response to risk situations, such as a weather alert due to heavy rain, wind, snow, heat waves, or extreme cold.

Its specific competencies may vary depending on the municipality and its Municipal Emergency Plan, but in general they can be grouped into several functional blocks:

1. Direction and strategic decision-making

• Advise the mayor, who is usually the highest authority in municipal emergencies, on the measures to be adopted in each phase of the alert (pre-alert, alert, emergency).
• Declare the activation of municipal emergency plans or specific plans for meteorological risk (floods, storms, snowfalls), and propose their deactivation when the danger ceases.
• Set priorities for action: which areas to protect first, which services to reinforce, which infrastructures are critical (schools, health centers, nursing homes, water or electricity networks, etc.).
• Coordinate with other administrative levels (regional civil protection, Government Delegation, emergency consortia, river basin authorities), especially when the emergency clearly exceeds the local scope.

2. Operational coordination of municipal services

• Integrate and coordinate the different involved services: local police, firefighters or fire and rescue services, street cleaning services, public works brigades, social services, voluntary civil protection personnel, etc.
• Assign human and material resources (vehicles, water pumps, barriers, road salt, generators, rescue equipment) according to the evolution of the meteorological phenomenon.
• Centralize operational information: weather reports, AEMET warnings, police and fire reports, incidents reported by citizens and other organizations.
• Ensure continuity of essential services (water supply, waste collection, public transport, access to health centers) adjusting schedules, routes, and reinforcements according to risk.

3. Information management and communication to the population

• Assess technical information (AEMET warning levels, flow forecasts, risk maps) and translate it into clear messages for the public.
• Decide and coordinate communication channels: municipal website, social networks, official announcements, emergency SMS, loudspeaker warnings, local media.
• Issue recommendations to the population: avoid travel, remove vehicles from flood-prone areas, check drains in homes, exercise caution in parks and promenades, protect vulnerable people, etc.
• Inform about exceptional measures: school closures, access restrictions to certain areas, preventive local road closures, suspension of outdoor activities.

4. Protection of vulnerable people and the urban environment

• Identify vulnerable groups (elderly living alone, homeless people, chronically ill, minors) and coordinate with social and health services for priority care.
• Prepare and manage shelter spaces if it is necessary to evacuate homes or facilities, ensuring temporary accommodation, basic food, and minimum social care.
• Supervise the condition of sensitive infrastructures (bridges, slopes, underpasses, urban trees) to order preventive closures or emergency works.

5. Monitoring, evaluation, and return to normality

• Monitor in real time the evolution of the alert and periodically review decisions made, adapting them to the new situation (risk level increase, expected improvement, appearance of new danger spots).
• Plan the return to normality: progressive reopening of roads and services, removal of protective elements, coordination of cleaning and repair work.
• Carry out a post-emergency evaluation: what worked well, what incidents occurred, what improvements to introduce in municipal plans and protocols.
• Promote preventive measures in the medium and long term: improvements in urban drainage, citizen information campaigns, review of urban planning in risk areas, updating resource inventories.

In summary, the municipal Emergency Committee is the command and coordination center that allows the city council to respond in an organized, rapid, and proportional manner to a weather alert, with the main objective of protecting the life and integrity of people, minimizing material damage, and restoring normality in the city as soon as possible.

In Spain, there is no single rule that states "when a fair can continue or not if there is a weather warning," but there is a set of obligations that, in practice, make it legally defensible to maintain the schedule only when it has been demonstrated that safety is guaranteed. If it cannot be guaranteed, the fair must suspend, evacuate, or adapt its activity.

The basic framework is provided by Law 17/2015, of the National Civil Protection System, the Basic Civil Protection Standard (Royal Decree 524/2023), the former Basic Self-Protection Standard (Royal Decree 393/2007, still applicable temporarily), Law 31/1995, on occupational risk prevention, Organic Law 4/2015, on citizen security, and the regional laws on public shows and recreational activities (for example, Andalusia, Catalonia, Valencian Community, Galicia), as well as municipal ordinances.

1. Self-protection and emergency plans

For an outdoor fair or large event, state self-protection regulations and regional show regulations usually require:

• Self-protection plan or at least an emergency plan approved, identifying risks (including adverse meteorological phenomena) and establishing alert, evacuation, and rescue procedures.
• Certified structures, attractions, and tents sized to withstand wind, rain, or other agents foreseen in the Technical Building Code and applicable technical regulations.
• Internal organization (plan director, intervention chiefs, evacuation and first aid teams) and specific training of staff to act in storms, strong gusts, extreme heat, etc.
• Drills and periodic review of the plan, adjusting it to the reality of each edition of the fair (capacity, layout of the venue, new attractions).

2. Risk assessment and coordination with Civil Protection/AEMET

Law 17/2015 and the Basic Civil Protection Standard require that competent administrations and activity holders coordinate in emergencies:

• Before and during the fair, there must be an operational communication channel with the municipal/regional Civil Protection service and, if applicable, with the 112 center.
• AEMET warnings (yellow, orange, red) must be integrated into the risk assessment of the self-protection plan. An orange or red warning for wind, heavy rain, or severe storms is normally incompatible with maintaining activities with elevated elements or light structures without very strict additional restrictions.
• If the autonomous community or municipality activates a Civil Protection plan (for example, due to adverse meteorological phenomena), the organizer must adapt or suspend the fair in accordance with the instructions of the civil protection authority.

3. Decision to maintain, adapt, or suspend

Legally, the key criterion is not assuming unacceptable risks:

• The activity holder has the duty to interrupt or not start the event when conditions do not guarantee the safety of attendees, workers, and third parties.
• In practice, faced with adverse weather warnings, the legally strongest options are: delay schedules, close specific attractions, reduce capacity, temporarily confine the public in safe areas, or suspend/evacuate if the risk is high.
• The decision must be based on a documented evaluation (technical reports, consultations with civil protection, wind/rain records, etc.). Maintaining the fair "just because," ignoring official warnings, exposes both the organizer and the city council that authorizes or tolerates the activity.
• It is mandatory to inform the public clearly about changes, suspensions, and safety measures to avoid panic or dangerous crowds.

4. Responsibilities and sanctions

If the schedule is maintained without guaranteeing safety, several types of liability may be activated:

• Administrative: regional show laws classify as serious or very serious infractions holding events without proper safety conditions, exceeding capacities, or disobeying suspension or evacuation orders. Sanctions may include high fines, license suspensions, and even closure of the venue.
• Civil: obligation to compensate damages to victims or relatives if it is proven that reasonable prevention and response measures were not adopted.
• Criminal: in cases of serious injuries or deaths due to gross negligence (for example, keeping attractions open with wind gusts far exceeding design limits), crimes of manslaughter or negligent injury or against collective safety may be considered.
• Liability of the Administration: if the City Council does not act despite knowing the risk (civil protection reports, AEMET warnings, etc.), it may be held financially liable and, in extreme cases, criminal liability of authorities or technicians may come into play.

In summary, the fundamental rule is that a fair can only be maintained in adverse phenomena if the organizer and the competent authority can technically justify that, with the measures adopted, the residual risk is acceptable. In case of reasonable doubt, the legally safest option is to restrict or suspend the activity.