Finding your area's emergency plan, evacuation routes and meeting points

Terms used

• Protección Civil — Protección Civil is Spain's civil-protection service, which plans for and responds to emergencies such as floods and wildfires.
• Ayuntamiento — The ayuntamiento is your town hall, the local council that runs municipal services.
• ES-Alert — ES-Alert is Spain's system that sends emergency alerts to all compatible phones in an affected area.
• Informe urbanístico — The informe urbanístico is a town hall report on a plot's planning status and restrictions, which may include flood risk.
• Urbanización — An urbanización is a housing development or estate, often outside the town centre.

Key rules

• Emergency number: The national emergency number is 112.
• ES-Alert: You need no registration or app, but your phone must be compatible with alerts switched on.
• Missing plan: If your town's plan is not online, the ayuntamiento can give you a copy on request.
• Volunteers: Legal foreign residents can generally join the local volunteer group, but each town sets its own rules.

Start with your town hall and your region

In an emergency, call 112. Before one happens, find your municipal emergency plan. It is the document that says which risks your town faces and what happens in each.

Plans are layered. Your town has its own plan, your region has a territorial plan, and there are special plans for floods, wildfires and similar risks. Names vary by region.

Where to find the plan

1. Look on your region's Protección Civil web page. Many plans are also published in the regional official gazette, and some towns post them on the ayuntamiento's website.
2. If you cannot find it online, ask your ayuntamiento for a copy.

Not every small town has an up-to-date public plan. If yours does not, ask the ayuntamiento's Protección Civil office what applies to your street.

What to read in the plan

• The risk maps for flood or fire zones. Check where your home sits.
• The alert phases, which show what each stage means.
• Evacuation routes, assembly points (puntos de reunión) and shelters.
• The contact numbers and the self-protection advice.

Evacuation routes and meeting points

These are often not published in a uniform way. Larger, coastal and flood-prone towns more often post maps. Smaller towns often have no public version. Ask the ayuntamiento's Protección Civil office for your route and meeting point, or check the regional portal. If you live in an urbanización in a wildfire area, ask whether it has its own self-protection plan.

For a written report on a specific property, ask the urban planning department for an informe urbanístico. It can mention flood zones or other restrictions. Fees and times differ by town, so ask yours. The documents and timeline below cover the steps. Buyers should also check the national flood-zone viewer and your region's flood maps.

Warning channels to switch on

• ES-Alert sends alerts to phones in the affected area. You do not need to register or install an app. Your phone must be compatible and have emergency alerts enabled. If your phone is set to English, the alert still arrives, in Spanish or the regional language.
• AEMET, the weather agency, publishes warnings by zone on its website and app. No registration is needed. The decision block below explains the colours. The same rain can give different colours in different areas, so check your own zone.
• Regional and local channels include 112 apps, SMS, email, and in some towns text, WhatsApp or sirens. Some need registration, so ask your ayuntamiento.
• River basin authorities publish river-level data on their websites, which helps if you live near a river.

Joining local volunteers

Many towns have an Agrupación de Voluntarios de Protección Civil. You join through the ayuntamiento, and rules differ by town and region.

Typical requirements:

• Legal age, usually 18.
• A link to the municipality.
• Good physical fitness.
• No relevant criminal record.
• The role is unpaid.

Typical steps:

1. Submit an application (solicitud) to the ayuntamiento or its Protección Civil office, often through its online office or registry.
2. Pass an interview or medical check.
3. Complete the basic training course.
4. Receive your ID and insurance.

Foreign residents can generally join if they are legal residents. Confirm the details with your ayuntamiento.

Choosing between options

What should you do at each AEMET warning colour?

• Green warning: There is no risk, so carry on as normal.

• Yellow warning: There is no special risk for most people, but some activities may be affected, so stay aware of the forecast.

• Orange warning: There is significant danger, so stay informed and take precautions.

• Red warning: There is extreme danger from exceptional weather, so follow the authorities' instructions.

The colour is set by thresholds for your zone and the type of weather, so check your own zone's figures. For rain, thresholds are set as millimetres of accumulated rain in 1 hour or 12 hours.

Timeline and deadlines

• Submit your written request for an informe urbanístico with the address, cadastral reference, ID and fee: as soon as you have the address and cadastral reference

• Wait for the town hall's answer: commonly 1 to 3 months after submitting, depending on the town

• Follow up in writing with the urban planning department if you have no reply: after three months without an answer

Documents you need

• Informe urbanístico (also called certificado urbanístico, cédula urbanística or certificado de compatibilidad urbanística): the town hall's urban planning department issues it, and it states the plot's classification, planning status and restrictions, which may include flood zone or other risk.

• Written request (instancia) to the urban planning department, submitted through the ayuntamiento's online office, in person at the registro, or through the general registry.

• The property address and its cadastral reference (referencia catastral), which identify the plot you are asking about.

• Your ID, plus proof that you paid the local fee (tasa) set by the town's ordinance.

• The owner's authorisation or proof of legitimate interest, if you are a prospective buyer and not yet the owner.

Checklist

• Look for your municipal emergency plan on your regional Protección Civil web page, the regional official gazette and your ayuntamiento's website.

• Read the plan's risk maps, alert phases, evacuation routes, assembly points (puntos de reunión), shelters and contact numbers.

• Ask the ayuntamiento's Protección Civil office for your evacuation route and meeting point if the plan does not show them.

• Switch on emergency alerts on your phone so ES-Alert messages reach you without registration.

• Open the weather agency AEMET's warnings for your zone on its website or app.

• Ask your ayuntamiento whether it runs a local text, WhatsApp, email or siren alert and sign up if it needs registration.

• Ask your ayuntamiento's Protección Civil office how to apply to the volunteer group (Agrupación de Voluntarios de Protección Civil).

What to watch out for

• Your town may have no up-to-date public plan: Not every small municipality publishes a current emergency plan, so a search may find nothing for your town. Ask the ayuntamiento in writing for a copy, and check the regional Protección Civil page for the wider regional plan.

• Evacuation routes and meeting points are often not published: There is no uniform public list of routes and meeting points. Smaller towns often have no public version, and you could reach an emergency without knowing where to go. Ask the Protección Civil office of your ayuntamiento for your route and meeting point before an emergency, and check any self-protection plan for your urbanización.

• The same rain can give different warning colours in different areas: Warning thresholds are set per zone and per phenomenon, so a colour you know from another area may mean a different amount of rain where you live. Check the threshold table for your own zone on the weather agency AEMET's site.

• Written hazard reports can take months: An informe urbanístico commonly takes 1 to 3 months and varies by town, so waiting until the last minute leaves you without the answer. Submit the written request early and also check the national flood-zone viewer while you wait.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to register to receive ES-Alert messages?

No, you do not need to register or install an app to receive ES-Alert, but your phone must be compatible and have emergency alerts switched on. The alert reaches phones in the affected area by location. Some local text, WhatsApp or siren systems do need a separate sign-up.

Will my phone show ES-Alert if it is set to English?

Yes, a phone set to a foreign language still receives ES-Alert, but the message arrives in Spanish or the regional language. Learn the key words before you need them, or ask a neighbour to translate. Do not wait to understand every word before following the instructions.

What if my town has no public emergency plan?

If your town has no public plan, ask the ayuntamiento's Protección Civil office for a copy or for its evacuation routes and meeting points. Small towns often have no public version. Also check the regional Protección Civil page, which may hold a wider plan that covers your area.

Can a foreign resident join the volunteer group?

Yes, foreign residents can generally join the municipal volunteer group if they are legal residents, but the rules vary by town. Typical requirements include being 18 or older, being physically fit and having no relevant criminal record. Ask your ayuntamiento for the application form and the training course dates.