Campanillas in Spain’s Malaga Declared Catastrophic Zone After Passing Of Storm Gloria

By Cristina Hodgson • Published: 29 Jan 2020 • 7:59

MALAGA will ask for the declaration of Catastrophic Zone for Campanillas in Spain’s Malaga.

The municipal authorities have attended over 800 families affected by Gloria storm which rocked the province of Malaga over the weekend leaving areas, like Campanillas ruined.

Despite the now blue skies and apparent calmness, the streets of Campanillas look like something out of a war scene: collapsed walls, fallen trees, neighbours bailing out water from their homes, streets still full of mud…

The destruction by the flooding has been immense.

“Now we have to start from scratch; the water has taken away everything we had,” words echoed by many members of the community.

Shops and buildings have mud marks which reach a meter high and the force of the flood after the Campanillas River overflowed has broken many windows in establishments and homes.

Some 200 residents have provided bedding and cleaning products for those affected by the floods in Campanillas.

Between the heartache, sodden mud and broken furniture, the light of community solidarity shines through. While the cleaning work inside the houses and the registration of the damages left after the flood advance, neighbours from all parts of the town, in collaboration with several associations of the Campanillas district, contribute their grain of sand, mainly in the form of donating blankets, bedding and coats, as well as cleaning products.

The district councillor, Ruth Sarabia, has informed that in just the few hours since the initiative to aid was launched, “an entire warehouse has already been filled”.

Sarabia expresses her gratitude on behalf of the town, not only at the gesture of solidarity of the nearly 200 people who have left items, but also the volunteers who participate in the collection of these items who work almost around the clock.

The latest figures show that almost 800 families have registered catastrophic damage to their homes and / or businesses. Once all the documentation has been collected, it will be sent to the Insurance Consortium for analysis and study. According to the mayor, Francisco de la Torre, the commitment of this body is to respond as quickly as possible to the claims. The councillor confirmed that around 5% of the petitioners are uninsured, which makes it difficult for them to be compensated for the damage. Highlighting the need for government to intervene and provide the necessary aid to deal with those affected parties.