Storms hammer Mallorca

THE mammoth storm ‘gota fria’ came in from the mainland and hit Mallorca with force on Tuesday. Hurricane-force winds caused trees to fall and roads across the island were closed due to flooding. More than 5,000 lightning strikes were recorded in 24 hours and 100 litres of rain fell in just one hour in some parts of the island.
The strongest gusts of wind were recorded in Cala Figuera, where they reached a speed of 131.9 kilometres per hour.
Floods affected some parts of Santa Ponsa and Son Ferrer and the emergency services have received hundreds of calls from residents whose properties have flooded around the island as well as some people having to swim from their cars as they were caught in floods.
Some 1,400 people across the Balearic Islands were without electricity as power lines were damaged by the storm and Endesa worked to reconnect the power as quickly as possible.
The Palma Town Hall also closed the beaches of Can Pere Antoni, Ciutat Jardí and Cala Major due to faecal discharges in the water. The EMT in Palma also reported delays on the network due to the heavy rain.
Tourists that flocked to the city to take advantage of the cloudy day and explore have been left stranded as they cannot get to their cars and the traffic is blocked on the roads around Palma.
The orange weather alert that was issued by AEMET on Tuesday was reduced to a yellow alert yesterday (Wednesday) but authorities have warned people to take extra care on the roads as numerous traffic accidents have been reported.