After several days of heavy rain and strong winds caused by a dana (isolated high-level depression), the Balearic Islands are slowly returning to normal on Friday. The episode, which began on Wednesday, has led to dozens of flight delays and cancellations, flooding, material damage, and rescues of people trapped on land and at sea during the storm. Although all the islands have been affected, Menorca has been particularly hard hit in the last few hours, leading the Consell to request a declaration of a disaster area to the Council of Ministers. The Minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, visited the island on Friday morning and left open the possibility of agreeing to the request, while emphasizing the need to evaluate the damages first. So far, the president of the Consell, Adolfo Villafranca, has announced that work is underway to create a damage inventory and establish funds to help restore the problems caused in the municipalities affected by the storm.
The municipality that suffered the most was Es Mercadal, where the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) estimates an accumulated precipitation figure of 204.4 liters per square meter, causing severe flooding. This affected homes and forced the Civil Guard to evacuate 16 people by helicopter. The residents of the Menorcan municipality have come together to clean up the affected areas since the start of the day. The airlines are returning to normalcy. Flight delays and cancellations caused hundreds of passengers to spend Thursday night at the Palma airport, where Aena activated its crisis committee to maintain restaurant and service offerings throughout the night. Although some delays are expected and occasional cancellations have occurred, air traffic has been gradually returning to normal on Friday, with 962 landings and take-offs expected during the day (1,047 on Saturday and 1,009 on Sunday).
Since the beginning of the episode on Tuesday, Emergencies has handled 416 incidents in the Balearic Islands related to rain and storms: 225 in Mallorca, 145 in Ibiza, and 22 in Formentera. The highest activity day was Thursday, with 250 incidents. One of the most tense moments occurred on Wednesday in Formentera, where a 54-year-old fisherman (Francisco Torres Costa) disappeared at sea in the middle of the storm. A search protocol was quickly activated, and fortunately, the man was rescued alive after seven hours floating in the water clinging to a piece of his damaged boat. It is often said that what affects us the most is what happens closest to us. Subscribe to stay updated and keep reading.
