Tuineje to Implement Emergency Plan
The Cabildo of Fuerteventura, through its Emergency Department, has sent the Municipal Emergency Plan (PEMU) document for Tuineje to the town council for approval at the next plenary session. This will be the third active PEMU on the island and stems from the Cabildo’s initiative to assist municipalities with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants. Tuineje is the first municipality to receive the document, while the plans for Betancuria and Antigua are in the final stages of drafting.
“The delivery of this document is great news for the whole island and a fine example of the results of coordinated work between administrations,” said Lolina Negrín, Councillor for Security and Emergencies of the Cabildo. She added that PEMUs are “key to operational capacity across the island and ensure that emergency services work in a coordinated, mutually supportive manner.”
David Herrera, Councillor for Security, Emergencies and Civil Protection of the Tuineje town council, praised the document and the significance of this inter‑administrative support initiative.
“It is an important step for Tuineje because it strengthens our ability to act in an emergency and, if necessary, to support other municipalities with our personnel,” Herrera noted. “It provides a guarantee for the population and adds a layer of security for economic sectors.”
The PEMU for Tuineje, now in the possession of the town council, must be approved by the municipal plenary to become effective. In this context, the Cabildo has taken the lead in helping municipalities with fewer than 20,000 residents draft their PEMUs, thereby enhancing their effectiveness and response capacity in emergencies. Different population densities across municipalities entail varying levels of specialized human and material resources, which need to be balanced and coordinated to improve overall effectiveness.
Last year, the Cabildo’s Security and Emergencies Department launched three working groups to coordinate the drafting of PEMUs with the councils of Tuineje, Antigua, and Betancuria. The goal was to assist small municipalities in preparing their emergency plans and to raise their crisis‑response levels, ensuring island‑wide effectiveness in emergency control. The Tuineje document has already been delivered, while the plans for Antigua and Betancuria are nearing completion.
Municipal Emergency Plans enable the identification of risks, the coordination of resources, and the establishment of mobilization mechanisms among various administrations, guaranteeing an effective response to emergencies. With PEMUs, public resources are coordinated during crises, improving incident response regardless of which municipality is affected.