The Costa del Sol and other popular Spanish holiday hotspots are planning to fine tourists who blatantly disobey red flags on the region’s beaches. The Andalusian regional government is drafting a regulation that will crack down on reckless behaviour during freak weather, fires and situations involving mass crowds, as it argued the dozens of drowning deaths during a “tragic” summer are totally unacceptable.
The regulation will include fines that will punish people who act irresponsibly or recklessly and go into the sea when swimming is banned and red flags are flying. Those who do so risk being fined up to 3,000 euros (£2,600). “Something is happening to public awareness when there are 169 deaths in a heatwave and something is happening when there are drownings; red flags are raised and people continue to swim when it is absolutely prohibited,” said regional minister Antonio Sanz. “This law will be groundbreaking in Spain and will include a sanctioning regime to reduce risks and raise public awareness in emergency situations.”
Andalusia is divided into eight provinces: Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga, and Seville.
The new crackdown was announced at the headquarters of the Andalusian Agency for Security and Comprehensive Emergency Management. During a public address, the minister referred to the high number of deaths that occurred during the August heatwave in Andalusia and expressed astonishment at the number of drownings in risky situations, which in some cases exceeded the number of deaths from traffic accidents.
“If there is non-compliance with the rules, there will have to be fines,” he said. “Drownings cannot be allowed to occur on the beach when swimming is prohibited.”
The sanctioning regime will affect individuals and municipalities and will include fines for a wide variety of cases. In addition to fines for people who decide to swim during times of red flags or who disobey authorities in the event of fires, earthquakes or floods, there will also be coercive measures requiring strict compliance with the regulations. If a nine-story building, for example, does not have a self-protection plan or has not submitted it to the fire department, it may not be able to obtain an occupancy permit.
Fines of up to 3,000 euros could be imposed for swimming with the highest alert red flag raised.
The future Andalusian self-protection decree, said to be the first in Spain, will also force planning for public activities that involve the gathering of more than 100 people or activities that extend over more than 10 kilometres: concerts, soccer matches, religious parades and pilgrimages.
The emergency plans of the town councils will be registered electronically, local corporations will be helped to prepare plans and a series of obligations will be established in large gatherings and events.
Tourists and locals will also be told how they should act in situations of alert and emergency, as well as in gatherings that pose a risk or are potentially dangerous.
The regional minister also announced the signing of an agreement with Radio and Television of Andalusia (RTVA), which will be extended to other media outlets, to publicise awareness campaigns, as well as the distribution of emergency number 112 mini-guides for children.
The decree, which is expected to come into force before the next fire campaign, will establish a catalogue of behaviours considered high risk and, therefore, subject to fines.
They include:
*Bathing on red flag beaches: An act of rebellion that can end in tragedy and that, from now on, will have economic consequences.
*Crossing sealed streams during flooding (DANAs): Ignoring warnings about the force of water can be fatal.
*Refusing to vacate a home due to the threat of a fire: A selfish act that hinders the work of extinguishing and endangers the emergency services.