Building a simple household crisis plan for Spain

Key rules

• 112: Call 112 for any emergency: it is free, works 24 hours and covers ambulance, fire, police and rescue.
• ES-Alert: You don't need to sign up for ES-Alert, but your phone must be on and have a signal.
• Local numbers: Regional health and local police numbers vary, so confirm them locally before you write them on the card.
• Meeting points: Choose two: one near home and one outside your neighbourhood.
• Local hazards: Base your plan on the hazards of your own area, not a general list.

Start with one page

Your plan can fit on one sheet. It needs numbers, a job for each person, two meeting points, a way to get alerts and a note of your local hazards. Print the emergency card below and fill it in, then keep a copy on paper and one in each phone.

Put the right numbers on the card

Call 112 for any emergency: it is free, works 24 hours and covers ambulance, fire, police and rescue. Operators answer in Spanish and your region's co-official language. In most regions they can also handle English, often French and German, or use a phone interpreter. If they struggle to understand you, say your language, your location and the type of emergency in simple words. People with hearing or speech impairments can use the 112 app or text service. Some regions require you to register for the text service first.

Add these to the card:

• Your family, neighbours, doctor and insurer.
• Your region's health emergency number. It is often 061, but it varies, so confirm it locally.
• Your local police number. It is often 092, but confirm it locally.
• 091 (Policía Nacional) and 062 (Guardia Civil).
• 016, the free, confidential helpline for gender-violence victims. It leaves no trace on the phone bill. It also works by WhatsApp on 600 000 016 and by chat.
• 024 for mental-health crisis support.
• 116 111 for the child helpline.
• 900 202 202 for Salvamento Marítimo, if you live or travel by the sea.

Add your embassy or consulate

Find your home country's foreign ministry website. It lists its embassy and consulates in Spain, with addresses, phones and an emergency line outside office hours. Pick the office that covers your province, because consular districts differ. Write down its normal contact details and its 24-hour emergency number. Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also publishes a directory of foreign embassies and consulates in Spain.

Give everyone a role

Decide who does what before anything happens. Name one person to call 112, one to help children, one to help older or disabled people, and one to take the pets. Name a back-up for each. Note every person's medicines and special needs on the card.

Choose meeting points and an outside contact

• Pick one meeting point near home, for example a square or the building entrance.
• Pick a second one outside your neighbourhood, in case you can't return home.
• Name one contact who lives in another area. Everyone should be able to call them to say they are safe.

Set up alerts

ES-Alert is Spain's public warning system. It sends a loud message with text to every compatible phone in the affected area. You don't need an app, a number or registration. Check that every phone is on and has a signal. The message language can depend on your phone's language setting, and messages are often also in the regional co-official language.

When one arrives, read it and follow its instructions, such as staying indoors, moving to higher ground or evacuating. Don't call 112 unless you have a real emergency. For more detail, check your local authorities, AEMET (the weather service) and your region's 112 pages. A radio is a useful back-up.

Find your local hazards

Your plan should match where you live. Floods, wildfires, storms and earthquakes affect different areas.

• Protección Civil's website has hazard information and links to risk maps.
• The national flood-zone viewer shows whether your address is in a flood zone. Type in your address or municipality.
• The Instituto Geográfico Nacional covers earthquake and tsunami hazard.
• Your region's emergency website has its regional emergency plans. Plan names differ by region.
• Ask your town hall's Protección Civil unit for local evacuation plans.

Write the main hazard for your area on the card. Next to it, note whether you would evacuate or stay indoors.

Note the shut-offs and pack a kit

Find where the water, gas and electricity shut-offs are, and make sure everyone old enough knows. Keep a grab bag (mochila de emergencia) with water, food, a torch, a radio, batteries, a first-aid kit, medicines and copies of your key documents.

Review and practise

Go through the plan with everyone in the household. Walk to both meeting points once. Review the card every so often, especially when numbers, medicines or your address change. The first-month planner below shows when to fit this in.

Set up your crisis plan in your first month

Your first month, step by step

• Secure your housing and address: Before anything else: a rental contract or address is needed for the other steps

• Sort your visa or residence permit, or your EU registration: Early in the first weeks. Non-EU nationals book the TIE (foreigner ID card) appointment, with fingerprinting within 1 month. EU citizens register and get their NIE and green certificate

• Register at the town hall (padrón): Early in the first weeks, because other procedures need it

• Open a bank account: Once you have your passport, NIE and proof of address. It can take from the same day to 1 or 2 weeks for a complete account

• Get your health card (tarjeta sanitaria) and register at your local health centre: After the padrón and your Social Security affiliation or other entitlement are in place

• Make copies of your key documents and keep them together in a waterproof folder: As soon as each document arrives, during weeks 2 to 3

• Fill in your household emergency card and share your contacts and roles: Once you have your health card and bank details, by the end of the first month

Documents you need

• Copies of your key documents, kept with your emergency kit.

• A written household emergency card with 112, family, neighbours, doctor, insurer and your embassy or consulate, on paper and in your phone.

• Medicine and special-needs notes for each household member.

Checklist

• Write the emergency numbers on one card: 112, your family, neighbours, doctor and insurer.

• Add your region's health emergency number and your local police number.

• Look up your embassy or consulate for your province and add its 24-hour emergency line.

• Give each person a role, including who helps children, older or disabled people and pets.

• Choose two meeting points: one near home and one outside your neighbourhood.

• Name an out-of-area contact everyone can call.

• Note where the water, gas and electricity shut-offs are.

• Check that every phone is on and can receive ES-Alert, Spain's public warning messages.

• Review and practise the plan with everyone in the household from time to time.

What to watch out for

• Calling 112 after an ES-Alert: Many people call 112 when an alert arrives, which can block lines for real emergencies. Read the message, follow its instructions and check official channels.

• A plan that ignores your local hazards: A generic plan can miss the risk that matters most where you live, such as floods or wildfires. Enter your address in the flood-zone viewer, check your region's emergency site, and ask your town hall's Protección Civil unit for local evacuation plans.

• A plan that is never practised: A plan nobody has read fails when it is needed, and details go out of date. Go through the plan together from time to time and update numbers and roles.

• Phones that cannot receive alerts: ES-Alert only reaches phones that are on and have a signal. Keep phones charged and switched on, and keep a battery radio in your kit.

Household emergency card to print and fill in

Print this page, fill it in with block capitals, and keep one copy in your wallet and one on the fridge. Photograph it for your phone. Write it in Spanish, because responders and hospitals work in Spanish. Add a second copy in your own language, in English if you can. Use generic drug names with doses, and write dates as day/month/year. Keep it to one page.

Emergency numbers

The regional health number and the local police number vary by area, so check yours with your town hall or health centre and write it here: ______________________

Person

• Full name: ______________________
• Date of birth (day/month/year): ______________________
• Passport or NIE number: ______________________
• Home address: ______________________
• Phone: ______________________
• Languages spoken: ______________________

Medical details

• Blood group: ______
• Allergies (medicines, food, other): ______________________
• Conditions (for example diabetes, heart, epilepsy, implants): ______________________
• Regular medicines and doses (generic names): ______________________
• Blood thinners or other medicine that matters in surgery: ______________________
• Doctor's name and phone: ______________________

Health cover

Fill in the part that applies to you.

Public health card (tarjeta sanitaria)

• Card number: ______________________
• Social Security number: ______________________
• Region that issued it: ______________________
• Assigned health centre: ______________________

Private insurance

• Insurer: ______________________
• Policy number: ______________________
• Policyholder's name: ______________________
• 24-hour assistance phone: ______________________

Cover from abroad

• EHIC number, expiry date and issuing country, or S1 certificate and the institution it is registered with: ______________________

Keep copies of the cards with this page.

Emergency contacts

1. Name, relationship, phone: ______________________
2. Name, relationship, phone: ______________________
3. Contact in your home country: ______________________

Embassy or consulate

• Mission covering your province: ______________________
• Address and normal phone: ______________________
• 24-hour emergency consular number: ______________________

Find these on your home country's foreign ministry website. Out-of-hours numbers can change, so recheck them from time to time.

Children and standby caregivers

• Child's name and date of birth: ______________________
• School and phone: ______________________
• Standby caregiver's name and phone: ______________________
• Second caregiver's name and phone: ______________________
• Signed authorisation kept at: ______________________

A signed note from the parents is usually accepted for everyday care, school and travel. A notarised document is stronger proof. Staff may accept a note for routine treatment, but significant procedures need the parents' consent. In an urgent case, doctors can act to protect a child's life or health without it. Each hospital and school decides what it accepts.

Check it twice a year

Update medicines, phone numbers and insurance details. Replace every copy when something changes.

Frequently asked questions

Does 112 answer calls in English?

Yes, 112 operators in most regions can handle English, but coverage differs by region and is better in tourist areas. Many also reach French and German, or use a phone interpreting service.

What should I do when an ES-Alert message arrives on my phone?

Read the message and follow its instructions, such as staying indoors, moving to higher ground or evacuating. Do not call 112 unless there is a real emergency. Check local authorities and the weather agency AEMET for details, because the message text is short.

Do I need to sign up to receive ES-Alert messages?

No, you need no app, number or registration: ES-Alert reaches compatible phones in the affected area. Your phone must be on and have a signal.

Where can I find the hazards for my own area?

Enter your address or municipality in the national flood-zone viewer, and check the Protección Civil website and your region's emergency site for local risk plans.