A street market in Finestrat, near the city of Benidorm on the Costa Blanca in southern Spain was hit by a flash flood on Friday 21 October 2011, killing two British tourists and injuring five other people. The market is situated in a ‘barranco’, a naturally formed storm drain and has flooded many times before. However, according to an article in Información newspaper, the authorities have tended to look the other way as the market is so popular.
Illegal Building In Natural Storm Drains
It is, in fact, illegal to have any kind of structure built in a ‘barranco’ but in recent years that law has been flouted many times, with people being sold beautiful villas for thousands of Euros only to discover that they have been built in a major flood area. As the rain in this part of Spain only tends to fall in April and October and has until recently been very light, many people have not been aware of the very severe risk of dangerous floods. Now, with the possible impact of global warming, the natural flood drains are proving that they are there for a reason.
British Couple Died in Flash Flood
Every year in October heavy rains, known as the 'gota fria', hit the Costa Blanca causing torrential downpours. In this case, the rain had only been falling for twenty five minutes when the flash flood hit the market, washing away the couple, both in their seventies, before they had time to even react. According to witnesses, the woman was pushed up against a metal fence before falling into the water. Her husband, aged 72, tried to help her but he was also pushed down by the flood. The pair ended up trapped underneath a van and were covered by nearly a metre of water. The couple were on holiday and had been staying in a hotel in Benidorm. Their decision to visit the regular Friday market turned out to be fatal for them.
Five other people, mostly elderly, suffered injuries including broken bones and were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Market stall holders claim the emergency services were "too slow" to react to the calls to the emergency number, which in Spain is 112. The market holders all lost most of their goods.
Residents Had Warned of Danger
Residents of the Finestrat area were quoted in the Información article as saying that “the disaster could easily have been averted by the authorities not allowing a market to be set up in a river bed” The meteorological department in Spain had warned of heavy rains but the decision had been taken for the market to go ahead. Scientists were quoted as saying that the fact that the ‘barranco’ had been covered in tarmac and that the surrounding area was built up had prevented the natural dispersing of water which would have normally taken place, plus it had increased the speed at which the flash flood had travelled through the market.
Local authorities in Finestrat have called a meeting with various organizations to try and work out exactly what went wrong and to ensure measures are put in place to prevent a similar event happening again. A day of mourning in the town has also been declared.
Amanda Payne - By Amanda Payne: Topic Editor for European Affairs. Amanda is a freelance writer with a special interest in Spain and all things ...
