In an emergency, the right information is worth as much as water. And the wrong kind, hoaxes, does harm. These are the channels that work and in what order to trust them, with a few notes for anyone who doesn’t speak Spanish well.
- 1. ES-Alert on your phone
- 2. Radio
- 3. Protección Civil and your region’s 112
- 4. The media
- Never: forwarded messages with no source
- 112: emergencies only
ES-Alert: alerts that arrive on your phone automatically
ES-Alert is Spain’s public warning system. Civil protection authorities send messages to every phone in an affected area, with a loud sound even if the phone is on silent. You don’t need to install anything or register, and it works with foreign SIM cards connected to a Spanish network.
- If you receive one, read it all and follow the instructions. Messages are usually in Spanish (and sometimes the regional language), occasionally with an English version: a translation app with the camera function helps.
- Don’t call 112 to ask about the alert: it overloads the line.
The radio
It’s the most resilient channel: it doesn’t depend on the mobile network and any battery or hand-crank radio can receive it. Write down on paper the frequencies of your local stations and of public radio (RNE). English-language coverage is limited, so keep an offline translation app downloaded.
Emergency radio with hand crank and solar
What for: staying informed with no power or signal.
- FM and AM, independent of the network
- Charges by crank, sun or USB
- Many include a torch and power bank
→ Full comparison: best emergency radios.
Official sources
- Protección Civil (national and your autonomous region): warnings and recommendations.
- Your region’s 112: many have an official social media account.
- AEMET: the state weather agency’s warnings.
- Red Eléctrica: information on the state of the electricity system.
- Your embassy or consulate: many send advice to registered citizens in a major emergency.
How to spot a hoax
- It doesn’t say who published it or cites vague “sources”.
- It asks you to forward it “to all your contacts”.
- It creates urgency or fear without giving concrete instructions.
- It doesn’t appear on any official channel.
112
It’s free and works throughout the European Union. Operators can usually attend in English. Use it only in a real emergency: danger to people, fires, accidents. For questions, information or enquiries, use the channels above.
Next step: make your family plan so everyone knows what to do without needing to talk.