ARCHIVED - Heavy rain expected for the Murcia Region from Friday onwards

Aemet has warned of potentially very heavy rains this weekend

Aemet is warning of an impending “important change in weather conditions, which will determine the end of the period of stability which we have enjoyed for the last few weeks, starting from Wednesday the 25th November.

The state meteorological agency warns that on Wednesday 25th a cold front will enter the west of the Spanish mainland and will mainly bring sustained rainfall on the Atlantic coastline. At the same time, a storm will also form just to the west of the Peninsula, bringing instability that will also deepen and extend to the Mediterranean coast and to both the Canary and Balearic archipelagos on successive days. This has already started in the south-westerly quadrant and parts of Extremadura and Andalusia are on rain alert today.

The rainfall is expected to reach Murcia and Alicante Province on Friday, and continue on Saturday, moving away on Sunday.

This is a major weather front and is expected to bring substantial quantities of rain, which for many of us, will be the first “proper rain” of the autumn, following what has been an abnormally dry autumn.

Although regional organizations have not yet issued any official storm warnings, as it’s still too early to predict the evolution of the weekend in any great detail, there is certainly expectation that this is going to bring a significant amount of rainfall and some unofficial weather sources are warning that flooding is very possible in the Murcia Region should the rainfall arrive as expected.

In some areas of the region, councils are already acting, starting to clean out drains, manholes, scuppers and perimeter channels in anticipation of the rain, so it’s highly advisable to undertake some basic home preparations in anticipation of potentially very heavy downpours.

Simple precautions such as making sure that drains are clear of any leaves or litter which could prevent water evacuating from a patio, checking that water run-offs are clear, removing soft furnishings from the garden, or any structures that could blow away and clog water run-offs is highly advisable now, and it’s also advisable to get an extra loaf of bread in and do the shopping earlier in the week, to remove the necessity to make any journeys on Saturday or potentially Friday.

As the storm evolves and more details become clear, information will be updated. Should the regional authorities believe that the situation could deteriorate into a potential flooding scenario, then the appropriate warnings will be issued. At the moment, no such warnings have been issued.

Last year, during the months of September and December Los Alcázares became the epicenter of the two great storms that hit the Region. Millions of litres of stormwater flooded the streets of Los Alcázares, businesses and homes were flooded, families were isolated or had to be rescued from their homes in the face of storms and businesses sustained significant material losses.

Although the regional government announced the construction of a network of rain collectors in the north of the municipality and the reconstruction and conditioning of the Rambla de Maraña, these infrastructure improvements have not yet taken place and won´t be ready until the beginning of next year.

Several councils have embarked on local projects and cleaning of ramblas has been more intensive this year as a result of the flooding last year, but none of the major infrastructure improvements planned have yet been implemented.
 

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