Madrid triggers Level 1 ES-Alert, which users cannot disable

Madrid triggered the ES-Alert and citizens could not avoid it

The mass alarm that sounded on mobile phones across the Community of Madrid on Sunday, September 3, was not an accident or a technical failure. It was a political decision taken at the highest level and executed with a protocol reminiscent of Cold War nuclear submarines: two operators, two keys, one order. The result was a piercing beep on every smartphone in the region at 14:26, nearly three hours after the AEMET (Spanish Meteorological Agency) had declared a red alert. And a detail that has raised all alarms: if the alert is level 1, the citizen cannot deactivate it. Nor mute it. Nor configure their phone to avoid receiving it.

Who pressed the button and why it took three hours

The Crisis Room at number 1 Paseo del Río, in Pozuelo de Alarcón, gathered at 11:45 the five men who manage Madrid's emergencies: the director of the Security and Emergencies Agency, the general director of Civil Protection and 112, the general director of Emergencies, the head of Firefighters, and the head of 112. On the table was a red alert from the AEMET implying very high risk for the population. The DANA (isolated depression causing heavy rain) was expected at 12:00. The meeting started fifteen minutes earlier.

The beep did not arrive until 14:26. Three hours and forty-six minutes of deliberation. The director of the Security and Emergencies Agency, Pedro Ruiz, explained that they did not want to rush: "We were analyzing forecasts and verifying predictions." When the rains coincided with what was predicted, Ruiz made the decision to activate the system. But he did not do so alone. He requested permission from the Regional Minister for Environment, Agriculture and Interior, Carlos Novillo, who in turn consulted with President Isabel Díaz Ayuso. With the president's approval, the protocol was activated.

The procedure, according to the 112 Control Room Chief, José Luis Monteleón, requires two people: "One who drafts it and another who verifies it." The ES-ALERT system belongs to the Ministry of the Interior, which delegates emission to the regions, but it is a central module of the ministry that orders telephone antennas to display the message. "Neither the type of beep nor its volume are under our control," admits Monteleón. What can be configured is the text —maximum 600 characters—, the duration —four hours—, the territory, and the criticality. Level 1 was chosen so that no one could deactivate the warning.

Can you disable ES-Alert on your mobile?

No, if the alert is category 1. That is the conclusion running through the debate and confirmed by the Community itself: level 1 alerts warn of imminent dangers and sound even if the system is disabled on the phone. In iOS there is an option to disable ES-Alerts, and in Android there are also emergency alert menus, but maximum criticality overrides user settings. The only way to avoid the beep is to turn off the phone or leave it at home.

Some argue that the system is well designed for real catastrophes —a volcano, a fire requiring evacuation, a chemical spill— and that the problem is not the tool but its use. Others warn of a greater risk: that the alarm becomes routine and that, when something truly serious happens, no one takes it seriously. The doctrine of antiestéticar, summarized in a circulating phrase: "If it is a category 1 alert, it sounds even if you have it disabled."

The cost of an alert that does not match what peine

The AEMET had warned of up to 200 liters per square meter in Madrid. The SMS ordered people not to leave their homes. Nothing fell in the capital. There were incidents in Toledo. The comparison with the Valencian Community, where torrential rains are annual and such invasive warnings are not issued, appears in the analysis as an argument against excessive caution. And the most repeated data point: the alert was issued when models had already downgraded forecasts to insignificance.

The regional executive defends the opposite: "It was a historic situation. The Community of Madrid had never been entirely covered by an AEMET red alert. We had to activate the system to avoid transport collapses and save lives." The reply is immediate: if the warning is given when it is no longer raining, the message that sinks in is that the alarm serves to cover backs, not to protect.

What happens if the system is used for everything

The most repeated concern is not this specific DANA. It is the next one. If ES-ALERT is activated for rain that does not come, what will prevent it from being used for a heat wave, pollen levels, or any statement convenient to amplify? The tool is intended for serious emergencies —attacks, bombings, catastrophes—, but its value depends on reserving it for that purpose. Each unnecessary use devalues it.

The scenario that causes the most unease is false alarms. A system that reaches 95% of phones in a region and cannot be silenced is an attractive target for anyone wanting to generate panic. A warning of an imminent attack, with impact in half an hour, on all mobiles at once. It does not need to be true for the damage to be done.

---

The prediction, with all reservations: if ES-ALERT continues to be used for episodes that do not justify it, the next time it truly sounds, part of the population will ignore it. And then the problem will not be the beep, but the silence.