112 is the European emergency number. In Madeira the civil-protection service is the Serviço Regional de Proteção Civil, IP-RAM (SRPC). Its app is Prociv Madeira. This page copies what those official pages say about the number, the app, warnings, and location sharing.
Call 112
The SRPC page on 112 says the number is only for an emergency. It lists road, work, and sports accidents, falls, sudden illness, assaults, poisoning, drowning, alcoholism, sudden birth, and fires. It says not to use 112 for jokes, traffic information, weather forecasts, or general information. Unnecessary calls and false alarms get in the way of people who need help. The call is free. Source: SRPC, the 112 page.
When you call, the same page asks you to make three things clear:
- Where: the exact place. Street and door number, the road and whether you are heading up or down, and landmarks.
- What: the type of event.
- Who: the person who needs help, how many people, and what is wrong.
The same site’s footer labels a social emergency line, 144, as “Linha de Emergência Social”. The 112 page does not say what that line covers, so this guide does not either.
SRPC’s own contacts on that page are 291 700 110 and 291 700 116, srpc@madeira.gov.pt, Caminho do Pináculo, 14, 9060-236 Funchal. Those are not a substitute for 112.
What the PROCIV app is for
SRPC’s terms say the app belongs to Serviço Regional de Proteção Civil, IP-RAM. Its purpose is a channel for IPMA weather warnings and SRPC recommendations, local information, and nearby points of interest. Calling 112 from the app is complementary. Source: SRPC terms for the app.
An SRPC note dated 5 April 2019 lists the functions as: an optional user profile sent when you call 112; IPMA weather warnings; SRPC alerts as notifications even when the app is not open; local civil-protection information; nearby points of interest (an AED, firefighters, security forces, and others) with navigation and contact details; what to do in an emergency; and Portuguese, English, French, and German. Source: SRPC, App ProCiv Madeira, 5 April 2019.
The store listings checked on 18 October 2026 describe the same functions. Google Play says the listing was updated on 8 October 2025. The App Store shows version 2.2510.01, dated 9 October 2025, and says it requires iOS 15.0 or later. The App Store names the supplier as Serviço Regional de Proteção Civil, IP-RAM, with the phone +351 291700110 and srpc@madeira.gov.pt. Sources: Google Play, App Store.
The terms say Dobsware developed the app in 2017 under SRPC supervision. SRPC says the app may have errors and does not guarantee that it is always available.
Warnings
Weather warnings in the app are IPMA’s, according to the terms. The 2019 SRPC note also says SRPC alerts can arrive as notifications when the app is not running. The Play listing adds localized information such as closed roads and closed footpaths.
That Play line is not the trail-status list this site uses. Classified walks are on the IFCN list, which is what the walks pages follow. IPMA warnings for the island are on the weather page.
How the app shares your location
The terms and the Play listing describe one path. They do not describe a background share.
- You select the type of emergency. With your agreement, the app sends an electronic message with your location and profile. The terms say this is the only moment the app transmits profile and location.
- The phone then places the voice call to 112. The in-app rescue flow ends with that call.
- Rescue is not started until a 112 operator answers the voice call. The terms say the in-app call is complementary and that no rescue is dispatched before that answer.
- The Play listing says GPS and mobile data must be active for the complementary 112 service that sends location and profile.
The terms say that message arrives as email at the Comando Regional das Operações de Socorro of SRPC, and that it may be forwarded to the bodies involved in the rescue.
If the app fails, call 112 yourself and give the place, the event, and who needs help, as the 112 page asks.
For a levada, tell someone the route before you lose signal. The practical list is in levada safety tips.
Written with AI assistance from official and cited sources. Report an error: hello@madeirajournal.com.
