Severe weather in Spain in September 2019

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Severe weather in Spain in September 2019 caused regional heavy rain events and floods in southeastern Spain . Seven people were killed and there was high economic damage.

Meteorological process

The storm was triggered by the weather phenomenon known as Gota Fría , which occurs repeatedly in autumn, especially in southeastern Spain. Rising moisture from the Mediterranean in the low altitude zone forms cumulonimbus clouds up to ten kilometers high , which cause heavy rain, hail and thunderstorms .

The first warning was published by the Spanish meteorological service AEMET on September 9, in which it was indicated that an isolated low altitude was moving from the Bay of Biscay towards the Mediterranean coast. On September 10th, the southward migrating system over southeastern Spain caused severe storms in the Balearic Islands . In Son Torrella on Mallorca 215 liters of rain were registered in 24 hours. At Campos wind peaks of 112 km / h were measured.

Over the next few days, the low moved to Algeria and Morocco , directing warm, humid air from the Mediterranean to southeastern Spain. The 24 to 26 ° C warm sea water brought a lot of moisture into the unstable layers of air above the mainland, which caused heavy rainfall, especially in the provinces of Alicante , Almería , Murcia and Valencia . In some places almost 300 liters of precipitation fell in 24 hours, and in isolated cases even 600 liters are said to have fallen in just 15 hours. In some places the worst storms raged since weather records began in 1917. There was extensive flooding and villages were cut off from the outside world. The weather did not calm down again until September 15.

It was the worst storm in eastern Spain since 1879.

Victims and damage

Seven people were killed in the floods. Thousands of people had to be brought to safety by aid workers. Local forces were supported in the disaster response by the Guardia Civil , the Unidad Militar de Emergencias and other military personnel . In the Valencian Community , the general emergency number 122 received over 7,100 calls.

According to initial estimates, at least 300,000 hectares of arable land were devastated. The government put the amount of damage at 2.2 billion euros in a preliminary estimate.

Balearic Islands

The heavy rainfall led to flash floods and floods in Mallorca, the places Selva and Caimari were particularly hard hit . The highest weather warning was issued. There was hail, torrential rain and storms. Trees fell, streets, houses and restaurants were flooded, electricity connections were cut and boats torn loose. Flights were canceled or had to be diverted, beaches and parks were closed. The start of school was postponed due to the storm.

Alicante province

In the agriculturally important Vega Baja del Segura , the Río Segura overflowed its banks and thousands of hectares of arable land were flooded. The cities of Almoradí and Dolores were evacuated. One of the cities hardest hit by the storm was Orihuela , whose 75,000 inhabitants were cut off from the outside world for three days due to flooded roads. Tornadoes formed in the coastal town of Dénia , one of which destroyed a sports hall. A tornado severely damaged a school in Guardamar del Segura . A tornado was also observed in Xàbia . Several roads in the province were closed and many train connections were canceled.

Almeria Province

The highest weather warning level has been declared for most of the province. Several streets had to be closed due to flooding. Around 1000 hectares of greenhouses were destroyed in the storm.

In the Cabo de Gata Nature Park , 70 people had to be rescued from a flooded campsite by the military. The Almería regional airport was closed for a few hours. There was pollution at river mouths. Sand was washed away from the beaches during the storm, which is to be remedied by bringing in over 71,000 m³ of sand.

Murcia Province

On September 11th, for the first time in history, the entire region of Murcia was assigned the highest severe weather warning level by AEMET, as the heaviest rainfall was expected on September 12th and 13th. On September 12th, 200 liters of rain fell in Molina de Segura , two thirds of the usual annual rainfall in the area. On September 13th, 300 liters of rain fell in La Manga del Mar Menor and parts of Cartagena , in San Javier even 330 liters. Numerous irrigation and drainage canals went over, and some embankments were washed away.

The Tajo-Segura Canal was damaged by the floods about 10 kilometers northeast of Molina de Segura on September 12, creating a hole several square meters in size through which millions of liters of water flowed out. These poured into the Santomera reservoir located on a tributary of the Rio Segura. On September 11th and 12th, the reservoir filled from 2.5 million m³ to 21 million m³ of water within 36 hours. To prevent damage to the dam, the gates had to be opened. After reaching the overflow threshold , 20 m³ of water flowed off per second and contributed to a further increase in the level of the Rio Segura, which in places overflowed its banks. The fire brigade had to rescue motorists from their vehicles on flooded roads and tunnels. About 3000 people had to be evacuated from places in the river valley. Around 1200 helpers were deployed in the province. Masses of water washed away the railways . Large areas of arable land were flooded in the Vega Baja del Segura . The AP-7 motorway was flooded and Murcia International Airport had to be closed.

Sewage, rubbish, debris and fertilizer were washed into the Mar Menor with the water, the level of the water rose by 70 centimeters, which led to damage and pollution of the shore areas. A few days later, dead seahorses and other marine animals were washed up on the beaches , which is attributed to the nitrogen fertilizers and other harmful substances that were introduced. During the storm, almost 9,000 tuna escaped from a fish farm in San Pedro del Pinatar , many of which died and were washed ashore. The mayor of the city of Los Alcázares , which had already been declared a disaster area after a flood in 2016, described the damage in the city as three times as great in 2019.

The schools, sports, cultural and leisure facilities in the region have been closed and all rail traffic has been suspended.

The regional government of Murcia sought to classify the region as a disaster area. The economic damage to the regional government's infrastructure was estimated at 528 million euros. In addition, there is damage to the infrastructure of the national government, damage to agriculture and damage to private property. An insurance consortium reported nearly 30,000 reported claims in the region.

Valencia Province

Schools in the province remained closed, affecting around 700,000 students. In Ontinyent , 300 liters of precipitation fell in 24 hours, more than since 1917. 250 liters of it fell in just 12 hours. The Clariano River overflowed its banks, flooding the Canterería district and taking cars with it. The wall of a school in Ontinyent collapsed. In the municipality of Ayelo de Malferit , the waters of the Clariano destroyed a bridge from the 16th century.

At La Font de la Figuera , a train tunnel was flooded meters high. The train traffic had to be stopped. In the village, the drinking water supply failed in some cases, fields in the area were flooded and dirt roads were destroyed.

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ What is a Gota fría? In: murciatoday.com . Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  2. ↑ a b c d Murcia Gota Fría storm and flooding September 2019: overview. In: murciatoday.com . November 15, 2019, accessed on January 16, 2020.
  3. ↑ Avís especial d'AEMET | Aviso especial de AEMET… AEMET on Twitter , September 10, 2019, accessed January 4, 2020 (Spanish).
  4. ↑ a b Nikolas Zimmermann: Storms in the Balearic Islands. In: uwz.at . September 14, 2019, accessed January 1, 2020.
  5. ↑ #Racha de 112km / ha las 17:10 en la prov. De Illes Balears.Datos PROVISIONALES de estac. automobile. AEMET on Twitter , September 10, 2019, accessed January 4, 2020 (Spanish).
  6. ↑ Severe floods in Spain. In: uwr.de . September 12, 2019, accessed January 4, 2020.
  7. ^ Flood of the century in southeastern Spain. In: uwz.at . September 14, 2019, accessed January 1, 2020.
  8. ^ A b Spain: Seven people die in storms. In: nzz.ch . September 17, 2019, accessed January 19, 2020.
  9. ↑ Severe weather in Spain: death toll continues to rise. In: orf.at . September 17, 2019, accessed September 18, 2019.
  10. ↑ a b c d Susana Urra: Eastern Spain takes stock of worst storm in 140 years. In: elpais.com . September 16, 2019, accessed January 8, 2020.
  11. ↑ Las cifras de la gota fría more catastrófica en 140 años en la Comunitat Valenciana. In: lasprovincias.es . September 14, 2019, accessed January 4, 2020 (Spanish).
  12. ↑ Global Catastrophe Recap - September 2019. (PDF; 666 kB) In: aon.com . October 9, 2019, accessed January 19, 2020.
  13. ↑ Severe storms in Mallorca - start of school postponed. In: br.de . September 11, 2019, accessed January 4, 2020.
  14. ↑ Storm: Mallorca with summer weather - minister warns. In: morgenpost.de . September 16, 2019, accessed January 17, 2020.
  15. ↑ a b c Virginia Vadillo, Susana Urra: Torrential rain and flash flooding in eastern Spain claim six victims. In: elpais.com . September 14, 2019, accessed on January 19, 2020.
  16. ↑ Una tromba marina en Guardamar del Segura provoca daños en un colegio y cuantiosos desperfectos. In: elmundo.es . September 12, 2019, accessed January 4, 2020 (Spanish).
  17. ↑ Alicia Amate: La 'gota fría' activa el máximo nivel de alerta y deja caer hasta 80 litros por hora en la provincia. In: ideal.es . September 13, 2019, accessed January 19, 2020 (Spanish).
  18. ↑ Five dead from storms in south-east Spain. In: derstandard.at . September 14, 2019, accessed January 19, 2020.
  19. ↑ El Gobierno regenerará las playas de Almería dañadas por la gota fría con más de 71,000 m3 de arena. In: almeria360.com . October 2, 2019, accessed January 19, 2020 (Spanish).
  20. ^ Archived - Repair work continues on massive hole in water distribution canal in Molina de Segura. In: murciatoday.com . September 18, 2019, accessed January 17, 2020.
  21. ^ Archived - Don't take the car - fire brigade rescuing stranded motorists in Murcia. In: murciatoday.com . September 12, 2019, accessed on January 17, 2020.
  22. ^ Archived - Alert in Santomera as the reservoir newars overflowing. In: murciatoday.com . September 13, 2019, accessed on January 16, 2020.
  23. ↑ Archived - AEMET reduces Gota Fría alert level down to yellow. In: murciatoday.com . September 13, 2019, accessed on January 16, 2020.
  24. ↑ La salinidad del agua impide vaciar el embalse de Santomera a las puertas de otra DANA. In: laopiniondemurcia.es October 19, 2019, accessed January 16, 2020 (Spanish).
  25. ↑ Archived - Dead seahorses appear on Mar Menor beaches after gota fría storm. In: murciatoday.com . September 23, 2019, accessed on January 17, 2020.
  26. ↑ Archived - Almost 9,000 tuna escaped from San Pedro del Pinatar fish farm during the gota fría storm. In: murciatoday.com . September 25, 2019, accessed on January 17, 2020.
  27. ↑ a b Ana Alfageme, Virginia Vadillo, Javier Arroyo, Rafa Burgos: El cinco temporal deja muertos y el río Segura desborda. In: elpais.com . September 14, 2019, accessed January 19, 2020 (Spanish).
  28. ^ Archived - Murcia government calculates gota fría flooding damage at 528 million euros. In: murciatoday.com . November 15, 2019, accessed on January 16, 2020.
  29. ↑ Severe floods in the southeast of Spain. In: br.de . September 12, 2019, accessed January 4, 2020.
  30. ↑ Victoria Torres Benayas, Ferran Bono, Melissa Kitson: Two left dead as Valencia region battered by torrential rain. In: elpais.com . September 13, 2019, accessed January 4, 2020.
  31. ↑ La DANA inunda la vía del tren en Fuente de la Higuera, Valencia. In: antena3.com . September 12, 2019, accessed January 4, 2020 (Spanish).
  32. ↑ Alicia Talavera: El tunnel del AVE se anega a su paso por la Font de la Figuera. In: lasprovincias.es . September 12, 2019, accessed January 4, 2020 (Spanish).