The Federation of The Orihuela Costa (FAOC) has demanded that the Orihuela mayor, Emilio Bascuñana, allocates urgent aid from funding already received from the Government, the Generalitat and the Provincial Council of Alicante, to mitigate the effects of flooding on the coast.
They say that many areas have been completely devastated as a consequence of the rains and the heavy seaborne storms. The major objective must now be to recover the eight blue flag beaches on which the Orihuela Tourist Industry relies, a task that at the beginning of last week the mayor announced “would be extremely difficult”.
The Federation has sent to the mayor an extensive report, prepared by local Emergency and Civil Protection Technician, Diego Herrera, which contains an assessment of the damages caused on the Orihuela Costa by the recent storm. It also makes proposals of many of the actions that need to be carried out.
Some of those highlighted in the report include;
a) Avda Adelfas (Rambla de La Glea) – Campoamor; b) Aguamarina walkway at Cabo Roig – Campoamor; c) Calle Rambla del Nacimiento – Campoamor; d) Calle Pirineos (Carretera a San Miguel de Las Salinas) – Las Filipinas E) The tunnel under the N.332 through to the Ayuntamiento in Playa Flamenca; F) The road between La Zenia and Villamartín; g) Storm drainage systems in gutters; H) The sewer network (Paseo Aguamarina, etc.) – Aguamarina; h) Beaches, especially La Glea and La Zenia, which have been the most affected. Other areas mentioned include public lighting and vegetation.
FAOC has said that the measures must be carried out in a “fast and effective” way. To do this, they have classified all of the actions in the report, which is 15 pages long, according to the cost of their repair.
Last week, the mayor, Emilio Bascuñana, together with the Councillor for Tourism and beaches, Sofia Alvarez, and the Councillor for Emergencies, Victor Valverde, visited the coast in order to see firsthand the effects of the storm. The visit was heavily criticized by the FAOC which said that, as an organization that represents many thousands of local residents, they should have been represented during the visit.
For this reason, the group has decided to create its own damage report, so that, one by one, all actions are carried out in order to “return the Coast to its regular state”.
