APRÈS LA PLUIE!..
The Costa is slowly recovering from one of the worst 'gota fría' downpours in several years, with flash floods claiming the lives of six people and forcing thousands to leave their homes in Valencia, Alicante and Murcia - where this aerial view of flooded
THE SAVAGE ‘gota fría’ autumn storms that punished Alicante province this week caused widespread chaos with residents evacuated, houses flooded, roads closed, rivers bursting their banks and, on the only positive note, reservoirs replenished to levels not seen for many years.
But by far the most tragic outcome was the death of six people in Finestrat, Castellón, Murcia, Enguera and Xàtiva.
The first victim, a 77-year-old man, was caught unawares by a sudden stream of water as he attempted to enter his car in Finestrat, which washed him out to sea. His body was found shortly later.
Finestrat mayor Juan Francisco Pérez expressed his condolences and criticised the ‘helplessness’ he faces with regard to finding a lasting solution to the problem – namely creating a subterranean drainage system - see more on page 6.
The Castellón death came as the result of a car swerving off the road and overturning in the Grao area, killing the male driver on the spot.
In Los Alcázares (Murcia), a 40-yearold man was also dragged by the current and his body was found floating in a private swimming pool.
In the same Murcia town, another man was found drowned in a flooded underground garage.
In Enguera (Valencia), a 64-year-old man was killed when his car was dragged along by a stream of water in the Vito Conejo mountain ravine, while in Xàtiva a 58-year-old man passed away in hospital after being rescued from a cave that had been flooded out.
More than 1,200 litres of rain per square metre fell from north to south of the province over three days, causing damage to crops - namely grapes, citrus fruits, broccoli and artichokes - that is estimated to reach millions of euros.
It never rains but it pours
Meanwhile, drought-stricken reservoirs enjoyed a spectacular boost, with the Beniarrés deposit looking totally different to the sorry appearance it has had for the last several years.
In just 48 hours, the reservoir left its critical state of just 15% of its total capacity thanks to the 400 litres per square metre that fell on l’Alcoià and El Comtat districts. Furthermore, the floodgates had to be opened due to the infrastructure’s inability to cope with the sheer volume of water.
Secondary roads in El Comtat district had to be closed to traffic as a result of falling trees and collapsing infrastructure.
Aquifers and water deposits in the Marina Baja were replenished after years of being bone-dry. Amadorio reservoir received nearly 230,000 cubic metres of water, while 110,000 fell in the Guadalest installations (read more on page 6).
Although both reservoirs are still far below their maximum capacity, the area’s water authorities predicted that they would continue rising throughout the week due both to natural causes and the pumping of water from other areas.
The Algar river in Callosa d’en Sarrià grew by 50,000 litres per second, bursting its banks and forcing the closure of the Fuentes del Algar park – giving rise to a spectacular scene that was widely documented on internet social networks.
All rural roads and lanes in the town were closed as a precaution.
The situation became even more dramatic at the meeting point between the Algar and Guadalest rivers – the area known as Mandem – where the strength of the running water reached 70,000 litres per second and flooded out the mouth of the river in Altea.
This prompted the local council to take several precautionary measures, including the closure of the sports centre.
Also in the Marina Baja, the intense rainfall led to flooding on avenues and roads in various towns such as the Bulevar de los Músicos and Avenida l’Albir in Alfaz del Pi, several points of La Cala and the Rincón de Loix, among others.
Thankfully, no major personal or material damage was reported in these areas.
A similar situation was witnessed on the banks of the Girona and Gorgos rivers in the Marina Alta, where such a spectacular rise in water levels had not been seen since 2007.
The torrent forced the evacuation of an urbanisation and 15 chalets in Dénia and Els Poblets.
Many towns such as Finestrat, Altea, Villajoyosa, Callosa d’en Sarrià, Relleu, Sella and Orxeta closed their schools on Monday, while centres in Benidorm decided to shut in the afternoon.
FURIOUS residents in Els Poblets have railed against the local council for not telling them the River Girona was on the verge of bursting its banks and that they would have to flee their homes.
Around 40 of them were evacuated on Monday from the urbanisation Almadrava Torre and a further 15 villas on the Almadrava beach.
Yet earlier, they say they had been told the situation 'was not that bad'.
One woman said she rang the town hall when the heavens opened and was more or less told not to worry.
But within minutes, a raging current was sweeping past the Almadrava homes and the river rose by over a metre and a half (about five feet).
At least one homeowner watched with terror as the river lapped at the garden walls.
Residents said they called the local authority again ' a few hours later' and were told that, 'if they wished', they could head for the town centre, but that there was 'no evacuation procedure envisaged'.
Some managed to speak to Dénia's mayor, Vicent Grimalt, since part of the coast to the north and south of the Almadrava belongs to the larger town.
Grimalt urged them to vacate their properties forthwith.
Drainage works in the beach area meant the evacuation itself was 'an odyssey', some of the residents say, as they were unable to get out via the main exit to the urbanisation.
By around 13.00 on Monday, nine families on the estate had managed to escape via the beach, clambering over bamboo canes washed in by the tides.
With nowhere specific to go, they headed for a restaurant for lunch, returning at 17.00 to see whether their homes were still standing.
But sources close to the town hall say the urbanisation Torre was evacuated in an orderly fashion as a precaution, not wanting to see a repeat of the catastrophe in October 2007 when at least two people died, homes were flooded and a bridge collapsed after the River Girona burst its banks.
By the end of the evening, the river levels had gone down enough that most of them could return home.
Heather Crowe, a long-running member of the local PP party, said the noise of the gale-force winds kept her awake all night.
She said the river had subsided a bit by Monday evening, but warned it could rise higher as a lot of rain from the mountains would come gushing downhill later.
But Tuesday dawned with bright sunshine and no further emergencies were reported.
Red Cross camp in Jávea community centre
Expat and Spanish volunteer firefighters became heroes once again – last time they were grappling with the fires of hell, and this time it was high water.
That was because for the first time in its history, Jávea set up a Local Emergency Response Coordination Centre made up of a cross-section of rescue workers – something most towns plan for in case of natural disaster but rarely have to resort to.
Along with the much-lauded Bomberos Voluntarios, the Civil Protection, Red Cross, Guardia Civil, Local Police and 'mainstream' firefighters from Dénia and Calpe clubbed together to tackle the effects of the unprecedented storm, working shifts round the clock with over 300 of them on duty at any one time.
Dénia and Jávea both had the foresight to build huge breakwaters on the beach, heaping up sand several metres high, which kept the tides back for the four-day monsoon and stopped tree branches, bamboo canes and sundry other débris from washing into the mouth of the river and causing it to overflow.
During major storms in past years, in Jávea's case, junk swept in from the sea ended up on the main roads and smashed glass shop-front windows.
Jávea's Arenal seafront road was shut for part of Saturday and Sunday after palm trees were ripped down by winds of up to 80 kilometres per hour (50mph).
Civil Protection volunteers lifted manhole covers to let the water drain away.
The real emergency for Jávea came on Monday when the River Gorgos threatened to spill over, forcing police to shut all roads leading to this and the Fontana Canal.
The urbanisation Pla 69, on a flood plain near the River Gorgos was under threat, leading to occupants of 10 homes being evacuated and those of another 22 warned to be on their guard.
Red Cross workers set up a 'refugee' camp in the Portal del Clot community centre with 25 beds, but only one pensioner couple who arrived at around 17.00 needed shelter for the night.
The camping grounds were a worry with over 270 holidaymakers on site, but in the end these did not have to be evacuated.
Residents in the Pou de Moro urbanisation on the banks of the Gorgos praised Jávea local authorities for their forward planning, saying 'in 2007 they did not even tell them to vacate their homes'.
Raining cats and dogs in Pego
Pego pet shelter sent out an urgent appeal at around midday on Monday as the dry riverbed which acts as a country lane leading to the kennels began to fill up with water.
Volunteers, mostly Brits, said the centre was flooded and they desperately needed foster homes for the dogs – although the cat zone is on higher ground and was not expected to be in danger.
This proved difficult, since most of the shelter's charges are large breeds which animal-lovers who shared the post knew would not fit in well with their smaller pets.
A German lady from Monte Pego offered a jeep as transport if needed.
But by Monday evening, a shelter worker confirmed that all the dogs had been moved to safety, mostly in foster homes.
They were expected to be back in their usual kennels before the middle of this week.
Sink-hole in Beniarbeig, but new bridge still standing
Beniarbeig's wounds are still raw from the catastrophe of October 2007 when an entire road across its bridge snapped in two and fell in the river – but the Sydney Harbour-style replacement has stood up to its toughest test yet and passed with flying colours.
The village did not escape dramatic destruction this week, however: a threemetre-long sink-hole opened up in one lane of the road heading for the inland villages of Sagra, Sanet, Tormos and El Ràfol d'Almúnia.
Even though the open chasm is terrifying enough to behold, mayor Vicente Cebolla said: “It seems as though it could be even more serious than it looks.”
A diversion has been set up to avoid it until the provincial council, or Diputación de Alicante – which is responsible for inter-town highways – carries out the repairs, meaning Beniarbeig will not be split in two down the middle the way it was nine years ago.
An underground water pipe burst in the Vall de Gallinera as a result of the extra pressure brought to bear by the tor- rential rain, forcing the council to carry out an emergency temporary patch-up to avoid leaving the entire valley without an on-tap supply.
Rock falls and trees uprooted by the gales blocked the main road through the hamlets which make up the wider village of the Vall de Gallinera, but mayor Toni Pardo has pledged to get it reopened 'as soon as possible'.
Schools shut and Todos Juntos carol service called off
School was out on Monday across the Marina Alta, and parents waited on standby early on Tuesday to find out whether their children would be going back to class.
Some of the mums and dads on their kids' schools' WhatsApp network received automatic alerts, whilst others had to stay tuned for bulletins posted on Facebook and Twitter.
The majority got up as usual on Monday morning, but then cheered their children up when they told them they could go back to bed as lessons were off for the day.
Practically all schools had reopened by Tuesday – even La Xara primary centre, which is made up of leaky portokabins.
Water gushes in through the roofs during spells of heavy rain, and has already, on past occasions, destroyed books and computer equipment, and fused the electrics.
'Hoax' bulletins purporting to be from the regional government claiming 'all schools were shut' were posted on Facebook as a warning by Jávea's mayor, José Chulvi, who told parents only to pay heed to 'official channels'.
All sports and leisure events in the Marina Alta were cancelled over the weekend – including the poverty relief charity Todos Juntos Jávea's eagerly-awaited children's carol concert.
Bitterly-disappointed organisers say the youngsters had been practising for weeks, and the event had been expected to bring in even more impromptu carol singers and donations than last year's successful event.
At the time of going to press, Todos Juntos was not sure whether it would have time to organise a last-minute later date before Christmas finally arrives.