{
  "id": 1688827,
  "title": "No Excuse: High-Risk Vega Baja Towns Still Without Approved Earthquake Plans",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/no-excuse-high-risk-vega-baja-towns-still-without-approved-earthquake",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-18T09:52:30.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Leader",
    "slug": "the-leader",
    "url": "https://theleader.info/2026/08/18/no-excuse-high-risk-vega-baja-towns-still-without-approved-earthquake-plans/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Vega Baja municipalities continue to lack approved earthquake emergency plans, despite recent earthquakes in Granada and seismic disasters worldwide. The Valencian Agency for Security and Emergency Response reports that Torrevieja, Guardamar del Segura, Redován, and San Isidro do not possess fully approved Municipal Action Plans for Seismic Risk. These municipalities face the highest seismic intensities in the region. San Isidro has a completed plan but is awaiting approval, while Guardamar claims it submitted its plan in 2023 and has conducted several drills. However, no comparable earthquake evacuation exercises can be found for neighbouring Orihuela Costa. The Vega Baja is the area with the greatest seismic danger, identified as the center in Alicante province. The 2011 earthquake emergency plan listed Torrevieja, Los Montesinos, Rojales, and Benijófar as facing the region's highest overall risk. A municipal seismic plan is crucial for preventing confusion and coordinating emergency services during a disaster.",
  "summary": "The failure of several Vega Baja municipalities to secure approved earthquake emergency plans is increasingly difficult to defend, particularly following recent earthquakes in Granada and major seismic disasters overseas. Earthquakes cannot be predicted with certainty, but their consequences can be reduced through preparation. In one of the Valencian Community’s most vulnerable seismic zones,…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}