Wednesday, June 16, 2010

That’s enough water for now thank you

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It turns out that the rain storm that we had on Monday was only a precursor to the one that hit us yesterday.

It came in from the salt lakes, crossed Elda and Novelda and eventually left via Alicante causing chaos in the Vega Baja, the Marina Alta and Alicante.  Eight thousand pupils in Denia had to be sent home from school, motorways had to be closed near Algorfa, access to Torrevieja was impossible, flights had to be diverted from Alicante to San Javier and  roads on the coast were flooded.

In Bigastro, 18 people had to be evacuated from a block of flats on Calle Purisima when the accumulation of water on the roof terrace caused two of the floors to collapse.

In just 40 minutes, 22 litres per square metre of rain fell on Alicante. The problem was caused by cold air in the upper atmosphere meeting warm, humid air lower down.Yesterday was the coldest June day in the province since 1938.  In those conditions, storms can develop rapidly and drop significant quantities of water in a  relatively short time. According to experts, this type of storm, which is similar to the gota fria, is a result of climate change in the Mediterranean zone so we can expect more of the same in the future.

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