Torrential rain and devastating floods hit the Spanish island of Majorca, one of the most popular holiday destinations among UK holidaymakers.
On Friday, November 1, a weather warning was issued due to heavy rain and thunderstorms over the Balearic Islands, which include Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. Residents and tourists were urged to be careful and stay at home due to severe weather conditions, just days after devastating flash floods hit the region of Valencia, in mainland Spain, reports the Mirror.
Footage and images shared on social media show roads submerged by the floods and motorists attemting to drive through the water. One tourist shared a visitor of lightning above her villa, while another shocking clip shows a flight of stairs being inundated by water in the Cala Major neighbourhood.
A British man who lives in Majorca part-time told Mail Online he didn’t leave his apartment on Friday due to “heavy rain and thunder all day” and said he could see a “continuous water spout” from his patio. A local emergency services chief told local media: “Thankfully, most people stayed home; otherwise, we might have faced a different situation. It should always be like this.”
Severe weather conditions are expected to ease up later today, according to the Majorca Daily Bulletin , but emergency services are still urging maximum caution. While some roads are returning to normal, others, including the Bunyola road, still remain shut in some stretches.
Yesterday, some garages in Majorca were flooded by the heavy rainfall, with concerns focused mainly on torrents such as Galatzó, Es Saluet, and Sa Riera, which neared overflow levels as they approached the sea. The Guardia Civil – one of the two national law enforcement agencies of Spain – conducted some rescues of citizens stranded near torrents, but according to local media, most incidents were of a minor nature.
It comes after 500 more Spanish soldiers were sent to the Valencia region following catastrophic flooding that has been dubbed the nation’s “worst disaster” in history. The death toll in the region climbed to 205 on Friday, but it is feared that number will significantly increase with more than 2,000 people still missing.
A total of around 1,700 soldiers are now working on search and rescue operations in the region, but sadly the hope of finding more survivors seems to be fading. One of the main tasks of troops has been pumping water out of underground tunnels and car parks due to fears people were trapped there during flash floods.
Authorities in Valencia announced traffic in the metropolitan area would be operating under limited measures throughout the weekend to maintain open routes for emergency services and facilitate essential services such as electricity, food and water to the affected areas. Guardia Civil has rescued more than 4,500 people trapped by the floods, said Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska in a news conference from Valencia.
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