THERE will be no time off for business on the Can Valero industrial estate this weekend as a small army of people continue working round the clock to clean up and repair the widespread damaged caused by the tornadoes which struck Majorca on Thursday afternoon.
The Secretary of State for Commerce and Industry, Joan Clos, flew to the island yesterday to inspect the devastation caused to the industrial site now known as Ground zero by the Spanish media and other of the worst hit sites.
During his visit to the Son Moix sports centre which lost part of its roof and a host of windows.
Clos announced that central government will next week create a special unit to co-ordinate all the autonomous and regional administrations involved in the clean up and repair operation- not only here in Majorca but also in some of the regions of southern Spain which have also been severely struck by storms over the past ten days.
Close admitted that assessing the damage is a complicated operation but he pledged that the authorities will try and keep the red tape to a minimum and that victims will be helped as best and as quickly as possible.
Close also revealed that he will decided on whether Majorca is going to be officially declared a disaster zone will be made on his return to Madrid having seen the extent of the damage first hand and received the reports from the various emergency services.
He praised the Balearic government for its rapid response to the storm adding that central government will provide any extra help needed to get the island back to normal.
Close also said that government aid and assistance will also be made available to those injured.
BORN AGAIN
Some of the victims of the freak storm which brought tornadoes peaking at over 135 kilometres per hour, one report on Friday night claimed that at its peak the force of the winds reached 180 kilometres per hour, have yet to get over the shock of being caught in the path of the tornadoes.
Jose Luis, the owner of the Chiringuito bar on the Can Valero industrial estate said yesterday we feel lucky to be alive. We are all still in a state of shock and I still get goose bumps every time I think of what happened to us here on Thursday afternoon.
Those victims on the industrial estate who have recovered from the shock have not got to start facing the challenge of literally starting a fresh - some businesses have lost everything.
The security guard seriously injured when the portocabin in which he was sheltering was tossed across the Son Espases construction site remained in a critical condition in hospital yesterday afternoon.
But while many were injured, the island is lucky that no one was killed by the storms.
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