On Tuesday morning there was a coordination meeting for the orange alert put in place in anticipation of the heavy rains expected today.
The mayoress, Carolina Gracia; the deputy mayor, José Aix; the councillor for Emergencies, Guillermo Cánovas, and the councillor for Human Resources, Luisa Boné met with representatives of the Local Police, National Police, Civil Guard, Civil Protection, Red Cross, Provincial Firefighters Consortium and Hidraqua, as well as municipal staff from the Departments of Emergencies and Civil Protection, Infrastructures and Environment.
They were briefed that in the urban area there have hardly been any incidents, although in Orihuela Costa the underground passageways at Playa Flamenca have had to be cut and the Rio Nacimiento boulevard has been flooded, according to the Local Police.
The road that crosses the hamlet of Camino Enmedio, at the height of the reservoir, has also been flooded, which has forced Civil Protection to carry out water drainage work. However, the Department of Emergencies has said that there is no alert for the flooding of the Segura river, so any problem in this regard is currently ruled out.
The Hidraqua manager explained that, since April 1, they have been carrying out flood prevention work by cleaning drains in accordance with the Rainfall Protocol. He reported that the company is reviewing the cleanliness of the most troublesome points in the municipality.
The Red Cross has indicated that they are in a pre-alert situation, so they have prepared a 4×4 vehicle and another 9-seater, as well as 65 beds, although it will not be necessary to use them based on the weather situation. Meanwhile, the National Police and the Provincial Firefighters Consortium have reinforced their services and the Civil Guard has reported that no main roads have been closed in the municipality of Orihuela.
The mayoress attended a telematic meeting called by the Department of Emergencies. She explained, the forecast is for the situation to remain stable and that “tomorrow the municipality should return to normal.” However, she indicated that, if the weather situation changes, the Ministry will convene another meeting this afternoon.
“With this level of notice, our protocol says that we can suspend classes,” she pointed out, considering that, if the activity of the educational centres had not been suspended, the situation of having to suspend them in the middle of the day could have arisen, with the consequent increase in road traffic in the municipality, as happened in Alicante city.
However, she stressed that the amount of rainfall “can change very quickly”, although she indicated that “it is expected to pass without generating more problems in the municipality.”
