Tenerife volcano alert as tourists issued ‘potentially scary’ warning

Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands, is set to be hit with a ‘potentially scary’ volcano alert as the island’s residents and tourists are warned to be prepared

Tourists travelling to Tenerife have been cautioned to brace for a “potentially scary” volcano alert during their stay as underground tremors continue to shake the island.

Mount Teide, Spain’s tallest peak, has been at the centre of reports in recent weeks following a cluster of minor earthquakes that sparked concerns about volcanic activity. Experts maintain the island isn’t facing an immediate eruption, but residents and holidaymakers will soon receive an “eruption” alert message on their mobiles.

The warning, forming part of Spain’s biggest ever volcanic emergency drill, will arrive on September 26. For the first time, an entire municipality will practice an evacuation in case of an eruption, with Garachico in the north selected as the focal point.

Only on islands like Stromboli or Sicily in Italy, or Hawaii, have similar exercises been conducted. The Muelle Viejo district will be evacuated whilst simulated emergencies play out elsewhere. Approximately 1,000 people, including the Military Emergency Unit, scientific organisations and Cabildo technicians, will participate, reports the Mirror.

From September 22, Tenerife’s official risk map will change from green to yellow, orange and finally red, leading up to the mock eruption message at 9am on the 26th. The drill is being conducted within the EU’s MODEX project and overseen by European experts.

Tenerife president Rosa Dávila emphasised the island must remain prepared: “We must not forget that we are volcanically active islands, although we are not at all facing an imminent situation.”

She continued: “This is a brave decision calling for calm because the risk is not going to disappear”.

Volcanic monitoring director Lucca D’Auria stated that the recent swarms are not linked to magma movement, but rather to Tenerife’s hydrothermal system. Tremors, millimetre shifts in the ground and minor gas changes “fit within normality,” he clarified, although he cautioned that the risk of eruption in the next 50 years is nearly 40% for Tenerife.

Spain’s Minister for Security, Emergencies and the Natural Environment, Blanca Pérez, declared that Tenerife needed to take a “giant step” in preparedness, with new action point maps and mobility plans already implemented. The Red Cross and other emergency services will be participating throughout the week-long drill.

Garachico has experienced the destruction a real eruption can bring. In 1706, lava from the Trevejo volcano engulfed much of the town and obliterated its port, though no lives were lost.