We live slightly downhill from one which has not been cleared since we moved in 4 years ago and is often used as a waste tip by locals (passers by wouldn’t dump huge bags of beer cans/bottles when the punt verde is only a short distance away!)
This is the second time in two months that this has happened and came upon us so quickly that we were forced to phone 112 for help. The guy on the other end of the line was very helpful but the police were not, saying we should leave but not bring our two dogs and two cats! What state would our house be in if a 55kg and a 45kg Rhodesian Ridgeback were left indoors for a day or so? Then, how would we feed and water them? The fire brigade would not come out. Our request for additional sandbags was met with a stoney silence before being told it was not something they would do. We have 30 sandbags and a large plank of wood to slow down the river-like flow in through our front gates but this means we cannot leave without the backed up water entering the garden!
So several holes had to be knocked in the base of the two walls that face onto fields to relieve the pressure plus an electric pump to squirt it over one of those walls. So far we are only maintaining the status quo but the threat of a further 3-4 days rain might mean our house is also flooded. What will it take to make the government realise there should be an emergency plan for "disasters" like ours? It is appreciated that these only occur infrequently but UK has managed to sort out problems like this although this does happen more frequently nowadays.
In the meantime, being off-grid, we are relying on friends who are more fortunate to drive to a dry spot on our "cami" and drop off a can or two of diesel for the generator which backs up our solar panel system.
Regards
Brian and Lynn Gatcombe
Costitx
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The Island residents have always " Fly - Tipped " their rubbish into the dry river beds . When there was the Island Disaster in the late '80's. Rubbish had blocked the overflow beds. water flooded all the urbanisation areas, Many businesses went Bankrupt as everything they possessed was washed out to sea. It would appear that this Islands residents are still littering everywhere, and illustrates their ignorance of their disgraceful behaviour. Search their rubbish, get addresses, and give them severe heavy fines, and criminal records. They do not care about their environment.
I recently took two friends who were visiting from Finland to Fornaltux. I suggested going there because it has just been rated one of the prettiest villages in Europe and I thought they would enjoy it. It was a Tuesday and to my horror and embarrassment, not one restaurant or panaderia was open. We could not even buy a cup of coffee. The only place open was the small supermarket. It begs the question, who is this island catering to? Only tourists? I live here and in the summer going to Fornalutx is impossible. It would appear when I can go, I need to pack a picnic lunch or at the very least a thermos. We ended up going back to Valldemossa and had a lovely lunch at my favourite restaurant. A big thumbs down!