Insurance claims mount as severe winds return

Majorca was braced for high winds last night after Civil Defence issued a weather warning. Acting on information from the Palma Met Office emergency services were told to expect winds of up to 100 kilometres an hour in some areas today. The latest weather warning comes just three months after freak weather devastated northern parts of the island causing widespread damage. Repair work is still underway and the damage caused has been calculated in many thousands of millions of pesetas. Similar weather warnings were issued by Civil Defence to other provinces on the mainland. The Balearic government has received 14.621 personal insurance claims to the value of 101 million euros, but has estimated that it will in reality, on have to cough up 47.5 million euros, allowing for «inflated» insurance claims.