Costa Blanca sees heavy rains but no Gota Fria

ALICANTE Province saw the first widespread heavy rain of the autumn, though without the much feared gota fria.

The massive sudden inundation that translates from Valenciano as ‘cold drop’ did not quite appear, over the weekend although flooding did occur and measurements show that in some places 100 litres per square metre fell in a short space of time.

Intense rainfall left records broken in some areas, and as the deluge measured above the 140 litres per square metre in places like l’Atzúvia, the Vall de Laguar, the Vall de Gallinera, and Pego,  traffic was prohibited on several highways and roads.

The Avenida Juan Carlos I in Calpe became flooded, as happens all too often in such conditions, and some 6,000 tourists were isolated in their hotels for several hours.

Sources stated that the closure of the Avenue took place despite the installation of a storm drain which apparenty was not operational when the rains came.

It was not until 12 noon that water levels receded sufficiently for the road to be reopened to traffic, and this was despite the fact that Calpe was not so hard hit by the rains as some other municipalities. Although in just one hour, from 8am on the Saturday 20 litres per square metre was the recorded volume of rainfall in the town.

Denia also suffered with many road closures and the Ibiza ferry was diverted up the coast to Valencia, with later sailings taking place form Denia Port but with large delays.

Ferries from Palma and Ibiza to Alicante were cancelled over the weekend due to the adverse weather.

The only reported casualty as a direct result of the rains last weekend was a 76 year old Spanish driver who’s car left the road as it flooded, causing him non life threatening injuries.

Meanwhile, the family of the British tourists Keneth and Mary Hall, who died in the previous week’s  flash flood at La Cala Finestrat released a statement via the British Consulate in Alicante to thank “all the people in Spain who helped them after the deaths of their loved ones, especially the people who tried to help them at the scene, the British Consulate, the undertaker, the Police, the Hotel Venus and all the staff in there. Also funeral care and Lloyds TSB Travel insurance, David Urquart. “

“We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. We could not have gotten through this without your help,” the statement read.

By Paul Deed