ARCHIVED - Murcia and Spanish news round-up week ending 24th January 2020

Snow and flooding return to Murcia as Storm Gloria leaves 13 dead across Spain

It is very rare for one single topic to dominate the news in Murcia almost completely, but that was the case this week with the weather as the third severe storm in only four months brought torrential rain, gale force winds on the coast and heavy snow on high ground to the Costa Cálida.

On Sunday, as Storm Gloria approached, Aemet issued a red alert for snow in northern Murcia and orange and yellow alerts for rain and gale force winds in the rest of the Region, and the events of the next 48 hours showed these warnings to be entirely justified. By Monday schools had been officially closed in the north-west as snow accumulated during the night and as the list of roads closed began to grow the westbound carriageway of the RM-19 motorway between the regional capital and the Mar Menor was one of those to fall victim.

Most of the first road closures were in the north-west as snow isolated rural villages, and as waves reached 5.8 metres in Cabo de Palos there was considerable damage all along the coastline. Offshore fish farm enclosures were torn from their moorings in Cabo de Palos – one washed up later in the week at Playa Levante – and by Tuesday much of the Region of Murcia was in the grip of unremitting torrential rain. As the stormwater tank in Los Alcázares began to overflow another episode of flooding grew more and more likely, and during the afternoon this began to happen all along the inland shore of the Mar Menor.

As was the case in September and December the flooding was at its worst in Los Alcázares, but traffic was also brought to a standstill in parts of San Javier and San Pedro del Pinatar as water cascaded towards the Mar Menor from the Campo de Cartagena.

On Wednesday in Los Alcázares, for the third time since September, it was time for the clean-up to begin again after the town centre once more flowed with water and mud. Unsurprisingly, many of the residents of the town are at their wits’ end, and Mayor Mario Pérez Cervera stated during the afternoon that the town is “tired of the administrations wishing us the best of luck while they offer no solutions”. Since the disastrous flood of December 2016 the residents have suffered five episodes of torrential rain and flooding, Sr Pérez Cervera points out, and the anxiety among the locals is palpable every time it starts to rain.

They are holding another demonstration on Sunday to demand flood protection, explaining that the fact that they are sealing the doors of their own homes with quick-drying PVC foam every time rain falls is not an example of their adaptability but an indictment of the lack of action being taken by the regional and national governments to protect the town.

On Wednesday the 112 emergency services call centre reported having dealt with 1,025 incidents related to heavy rain and snow since Sunday. The depth of the snow at the top of Sierra Espuña was reported to be 2 metres, and many parts of the Region of Murcia received around 60 millimetres of rain on Tuesday alone, far more than the historical average of 27 mm of rainfall during the whole of January in the city of Murcia!

Finally, though, on Tuesday afternoon the rain began to die out and there was a feeling of light at the end of the tunnel as Storm Gloria moved north.

13 dead as Gloria sweeps across eastern Spain

Elsewhere in Spain, meanwhile, the effects of Gloria were even more devastating, and by Friday morning the death toll across the country had risen to 13. The most recent victims included a fisherman who was carried away by a wave in L'Ametlla de Mar in the province of Tarragona and a 69-year-old who suffered a similar fate in the port of Palamós, and with at least three people still missing in the Balearics, including one UK national, the death toll could yet rise further still.

On Monday 8-metre waves battered the coast of Valencia (a new record), where one of the first deaths occurred, and well over a metre of snow fell in Zaragoza and Teruel, bringing chaos to inland areas. Perhaps the most spectacular images, though, were those of waves of up to 14 metres crashing against the coasts of the Balearics and flooding the upper floors of front-line apartment blocks!

Portocolom, Felanitx, Mallorca.
🌊 🌊 🌊 🌊 pic.twitter.com/y1CDKqPvg9

— Corral 🇮🇷 🚩🎗 (@Oriol_Corral) January 21, 2020

As the death toll rose Gloria all but obliterated the Ebro delta in Catalunya, at a stroke destroying the three main sources of economic activity in the area – the beaches, the seafood and the rice fields – and the Military Emergencies Unit was deployed not only to the coast but to inland areas such as Teruel, where rural communities have been isolated by up to 1.5 metres of snow.

Another unexpected boost for Corvera airport passenger figures!

When the storm reached south-eastern Spain Aena announced that Alicante-Elche airport had been closed as a precautionary measure – again, one which was justified over the next couple of days – and as a result many thousands of passengers were re-routed to the Region of Murcia International Airport in Corvera. Dozens of flights were cancelled, but for the second week in a row (following the fire which forced the closure of the terminal building in Alicante last week) there was an unexpected boost to passenger numbers at Corvera!

For the second week in a row the airport recorded its busiest ever day with as many as 100 flights re-directed on Monday before near-normal service resumed at Alicante-Elche on Tuesday.

More environmental worries at the weekend and in the long-term future...

More rain is on the way to Murcia on Friday and Saturday before the skies clear on Sunday, but another topic has now taken over as maximum air quality alert protocols have been activated throughout the Region. Both Cartagena and Murcia are providing free bus and tram services while African dust pollution episode lasts, at least until Saturday night in the case of Murcia, and other Town Halls to implement air quality protocols include those of Lorca, Águilas and Mazarrón.

Looking further ahead, though, it appears that storms like the one which hit Murcia this week should no longer be viewed as “freak” events: the regional delegation of the State meteorological agency Aemet has warned that the likelihood is that one of the effects of the climate emergency in the Region will be that when rain falls in the Costa Cálida it will do so with more intensity than has usually been the case in the past.

As the atmosphere of the planet warms its capacity to retain water is increasing, and for this reason there is more moisture released when the conditions are right for rain: in other words, with a warmer climate the extremes of rainfall become more pronounced, in terms of both long periods of drought and spectacular and prolonged cloudbursts.

It is worth remembering that the “gota fría” storm of September last year has been described by meteorologists as the severest to hit the Region of Murcia since 1950, calling to mind the disastrous “Riada de Santa Teresa” of 1879, when the whole of the countryside around the city of Murcia was flooded and over 1,000 people lost their lives. Thankfully no deaths can be attributed to the floods of this winter in Murcia, unlike neighbouring Alicante province and the remainder of the Valencia Region, which were hit much harder then Murcia.

Other items in the news this week

Murcia researchers make advances in canine leishmaniosis diagnosis: up to 35 per cent of dogs are infected with the disease in some parts of Spain.

Mar Menor fishermen call an end to the eel season after surprise bumper December catch: The eels appear to have survived the episode of anoxia in the lagoon in October as the fleet in San Pedro del Pinatar recognize the need to avoid over-fishing!

Brigitte Bardot Foundation visits feral cat sterilization scheme in Caravaca: the organization was founded by the former actress 12 years after her retirement from the cinema.

Man dies in Fuente Álamo road accident: the incident occurred near the motorway exit to Cuevas de Reylló.

35 illegal wells and 38 desalination stations raided in Murcia: 107 people across Spain face charges for similar illegalities.

New record international tourism figures in Spain in 2019: the increase was achieved despite a slight drop in the numbers of British and German tourists.

Butane gas canister price rises to 13.37 euros: another increase of almost 5 per cent just when people need heating most!

Two arrested after a series of muggings and thefts in the streets of Los Alcázares: the two Moroccans may yet be charged with other offences as the investigation remains open.

The 2019-20 flu epidemic claims its first victim in Murcia: an elderly man has died of flu-related complications to an already existing condition as the epidemic escalates.

Restoration of façades completed at the church of Santa María de Gracia in Cartagena: the project also included the construction of a bell-tower which was never completed on the original 18^th century building.

Collection of models of 18^th century ships goes on display at the Museo Naval in Cartagena: Julio Castelo Marín took up modelling after retiring 20 years ago and is now exhibiting the results!

Dog trained to look after disabled people stolen at gunpoint in Madrid: Pocahontas the black Labrador was due to be handed over to her new 15-year-old owner on Wednesday.

Delays in opening Corvera airport cost 180 million euros, says the Murcia government: the accrued interest on a 182-million loan inherited by the government adds a further 30 million to the losses.

Plastic-free packaging developed in Cartagena extends shelf life of fruit and veg by 40 per cent: by extending the longevity of products Newfresh cardboard attracts the interest of exporters.

Five charged with setting illegal animal traps in the mountains of central and northern Murcia: a dog died after swallowing poisoned bait in the municipality of Fortuna as a host of irregularities were found at a property in the Sierra de la Pila.

El Corte Inglés in Cartagena is to be downsized: the store in the Myrtea mall in Murcia is to be closed down altogether.

Minimum wage in Spain rises to 950 euros a month in 2020: the figure has increased by 29.1 per cent since 2018 but analysts consider the latest increase to be a risky decision.

The Spanish government could demolish buildings as part of its Mar Menor protection plan: the Ministry for Ecological Transition plans its own strategies to protect and regenerate the lagoon.

The official British population in Murcia and Spain rises: the Murcia figure stands at over 14,000 after a 4 per cent increase as many of those who were already here on an unofficial basis got round to officially registering their residency prior to Brexit.

Semana Santa in Murcia, Cartagena, Lorca and Jumilla promoted at the Fitur fair: the Costa Cálida stand at the event in Madrid also highlights the other attractions of the Region of Murcia.

Medieval city wall collapse closes road leading out of Lorca: rubble could not be cleared from the road to La Parroquia and Vélez Rubio because the wall is an item of cultural heritage!

Property news

This Monday saw the publication by the government’s central statistics unit of the residential property sales data for November 2019, showing that the number of transactions was lower than last year for the fourth consecutive month across the country, but in the Region of Murcia the opposite was once again the case.

Following a slump in most parts of Spain since the summer it appears that a ceiling has been reached in the level of activity in the market nationwide, but in Murcia the November data show another moderate increase of 1.2 per cent to 1,292 sales. As a result, after eleven months of 2019 the cumulative total of property sales in the Costa Cálida stood 1.6 per cent higher than at the same stage in 2018 (at 15,586).

In the country as a whole, meanwhile, the figures fell in 13 of the 17 of the regions of Spain and the overall figure was 9.3 per cent lower than in the same month last year at 38,680. This is the fourth consecutive year-on-year decrease and the seventh in the first eleven months of last year, and as a result the total of sales registered in the first 11 months of 2019 was 3.6 per cent lower than at the same point the year before, while the running 12-monthly total is 3.2 per cent lower than a year ago at a little over 500,600.

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