Overflow of the Orihuela River. Photo: Manuel Lorenzo (EFE)
The rains and the wind that are affecting the entire southeast of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands is causing numerous damages. Among those damages we find river overflows, destruction of materials and flooding in homes, closing of schools and roads and worst of all, two deaths.
This storm will begin to subside and withdraw as of tomorrow in the peninsula but it remains in the Balearic Islands and some parts of Catalonia.
Flooded houses. Photo: Monica Torres
The deaths have occurred in Murcia and Alicante. In the case of Muria, the body of a 40-year-old man was carried by the current to a house in Los Alcázares. It happened last Saturday when an elderly man was pushed by the force of the waters to the Finestrat cove.
As for the overflows, we find that of the Segura river as it passes through Orihuela in Alicante and the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation has decided to initiate discharges in the Bellús and Beniarrés reservoirs to alleviate the increased flow.
Damage caused in Murcia
In order to assess the damage caused by the storm, the president of Murcia, Pedro Antonio Sánchez, has directed a coordination meeting of all emergency personnel to be able to quantify them. The meeting was also attended by the Government delegate, Antonio Sánchez-Solís.
In addition to the meeting, the interior minister, Juan Ignacio Zoido, has traveled to Murcia to visit all the most affected areas and has mobilized the troops in charge of emergency, security and assistance tasks.
The Ministry of Defense has deployed a new battalion of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) that will help the 160 troops deployed at dawn in Los Alcázares. The new battalion consists of about fifty troops.
Overflow of the Rio Clariano. Photo: Juan Carlos Cárdenas (EFE)
The rains were so strong that in a single day has rained 57% of all that has rained in a year. This has caused flooding on 19 roads in the Murcia municipalities of Cartagena, Torre Pacheco, San Javier, San Pedro del Pinatar, Águilas and Mazarrón. It has also forced the closure of hospitals in almost the entire region, as well as colleges and institutes in 28 municipalities and the three universities. In order to treat the people affected by the floods, the Infanta Elena High Performance Center, The Red Cross has installed a shelter for some 200 people evacuated from their homes in Los Alcázares.
Red Cross volunteering. Photo: Manuel Lorenzo (EFE)
Damage caused in Valencia and the Balearic Islands
The provinces of Alicante and Valencia are still at certain risk and that is why 14 roads remain cut off by the flood. further some 129 municipalities have suspended classes as well as the four campuses of the Miguel Hernández University of Elche.
In Valencia the Clariano river has overflowed and caused the flooding of several houses in the town of Ontinyent and they had to be evicted. The Magro river, a tributary of the Júcar, has registered a very significant flood as it passes through Real, Montroy and Alcudia.
Floods in garages. Photo: Morell (EFE)
On the other hand, in the Balearic Islands, the Emergency Service it has attended 148 incidents in just 12 hours. None of the incidents has been very serious, but enough to also cut classes today and tomorrow in 17 municipalities due to difficulties in driving on the roads.
The risk is not over yet
The risk of flooding and heavy rain still persists in Alicante and Valencia. According to the State Meteorological Agency, the red alert is maintained due to rain and the orange alert on the coast due to strong winds and waves of more than four meters.
The president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Ximo Puig, has announced that his Government will approve measures this Friday to alleviate the damage caused by this storm and by that of the past 27 and 28 November.
Luckily, starting tomorrow this storm will be subsiding in the southeast of the peninsula, although heavy rains continue in the Balearic Islands (especially in Mallorca and Menorca) as well as in the northeast of Catalonia.