MAJORCA COUNTS COST OF FOUR DAYS OF INTENSE RAIN

MAJORCA was slowly getting back to normal yesterday after experiencing intense rainfall and adverse weather conditions over the holiday period.
Guardia Civil and Majorcan Fire services confirmed that the anti-cyclone sweeping in from the West, had caused flooding in Alcudia and Soller, and forced ferry and other maritime shipping cancellations, but Meteorological centre sources said yesterday that it had hardly rained from 7pm on Christmas Eve to 8am on Christmas morning. The heaviest rainfall of all on Christmas Eve had been registered on Minorca, specifically in Ciudadella where 16.4 litres per square metre fell.
In Majorca, 7.8 litres per square metre fell in Sa Cabaneta, 7.3 in Porreres, 3.5 in Lluc and 3 litres in Capdepera.
But, between 7am Friday and 7am on Saturday, in Soller, 121 litres of rain fell per square metre fell while in Deya, 106 litres fell per square metre. Puigpunyent registered 83.5 litres per square metre, Bunyola 81 litres. However, yesterday in Inca, Fire services added that there had been no serious incidents over the night linking Christmas Eve with Christmas Day and that the only call-out of any significance yesterday had been in the Soller and Inca districts to pump water out of basement buildings. Nevertheless, persistent rainfall over the past few days on Majorca culminated in flooding in a number of properties in Alcudia and Soller. Such an example was at the Soller water treatment plant where firemen and civil protection groups worked furiously overnight on pumping operations. There was a real risk that if the flow had not been stemmed, the untreated water from the treatment plant might overflow into neighbouring areas. Operations had begun on Thursday when fire services from Soller, Calvia and Llucmajor had co-ordinated a joint operation at the site aimed at reducing the vast quantity of water which had accumulated. Although the firemen withdrew from the scene on Christmas Eve, they left an automatic pump operating on site which they collected the following day.
The Guardia Civil were relieved to report that all the major highways were operating on Majorca yesterday, following Christmas Eve when it had been necessary to close the Murterar road above Sa Pobla due to fog, and also the one linking Andratx with Estellencs due to rock fall. Dangerously rough seas, pounded by rain and strong wind, played havoc on Christmas Eve with seagoing connections between the Port of Palma and her counterparts on the Island of Ibiza and Denia on the east coast of the mainland of Spain. According to Balearic Port Authorities, four scheduled sailings were cancelled: “Millenium II” and “Almudaina II”, both owned by Acciona, were forced to remain moored up in Palma on Christmas Eve. The “Manuel Azaña” of the Balearia shipping line was due to arrive at 5.30am in Palma from Ibiza but it never reached the port due to cancellation, while the “Federico García Lorca” failed to make its journey to Ibiza and Denia at 10pm. The “Nixe” could not make its journey between Ibiza and the port of La Savina on Formentera, and had to be replaced by a fast boat from Formentera which is a passenger carrier only (as opposed to cars and freight). The good news is that the outlook for the next few days is fine. Skies are forecast to remain predominantly clear and temperatures will rise slightly. However, looking towards this weekend and New Year's Eve, another cold front is going to hit Western Spain and slowly make its way across the country in the direction of the Balearics bringing more rain and winds.