Picture yourself driving along the TF-82 on Thursday morning when your phone lets out a shriek you never asked for. An emergency message fills the screen. On 22 October that will happen to a lot of people in Tenerife, and it is far better to know in advance.
The Canarian government will test the ES-Alert system as part of VOLCANEX Tenerife 2026, the volcanic risk drill the Cabildo is running in Guía de Isora. The 112 centre (CECOES) will send three messages between 9:00 and 14:00. The first targets Tenerife, but may also reach parts of Gran Canaria, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro, as well as the inter-island sea channels. It announces a move to the orange volcanic traffic light under the PEVOLCA plan. The official note is explicit: it does not mean an eruption has begun, it does not involve evacuation or confinement, and it asks nothing of the public.
The second message goes to Guía de Isora and Santiago del Teide and reports a simulated preventive evacuation, limited to Chirche and Aripe. It could also reach Adeje, Los Silos, Buenavista del Norte and El Tanque, plus some areas of the other western islands. The third announces the end of the exercise. Receiving a message outside the target area does not mean you are affected.
A few practical points, all from the official guidance. The test text contains the word “PRUEBA” and comes with a beep and vibration. If you are driving, pull over somewhere safe before reading it and tapping “Accept”. Do not reply and do not call 112. If your phone is set to another language, the message may show up in English. Phones that are off or in airplane mode will not get it. You need Android 11 or later, or iOS 15.6 or later, where the feature is on by default. There is no app to install and nothing to register.
One piece of advice deserves to be taken seriously: explain the system beforehand to older relatives so they do not mistake it for a real alarm. That is not a far-fetched scenario, since ES-Alert has already been used for real in the islands, in the wildfires on La Palma and Tenerife and during Storm Therese in Tenerife and La Gomera.
Thursday’s drill is the second of its kind promoted by the Cabildo, after Garachico in 2025. In the days before, there is a training programme: on 20 October the Canary Islands School Seismic Network (RESECAN) is presented at two secondary schools in Guía de Isora and Santiago del Teide, and an INVOLCAN exhibition runs from 19 to 22 October. Iván Martín, the island’s director of security and emergencies, said the exercise will let officials check procedures on the ground and that people should know the risks and take part in preparing.
For anyone living here, resident or nomad passing through, the rule is simple: if your phone vibrates on Thursday, it is a test. Check that the feature is switched on, tell the people around you who are less tech-savvy, and keep the 112 line free.
