Almuñecar: Defenceless and unprotected

Double pounding causes €600,000 damage

ALMUÑECAR desperately needs protection, and estimates it will cost €600,000 to repair the huge damage caused by the worst storms in 25 years last weekend, and council concerns grow over the serious risks should another storm strike now.

Both the national and regional governments have been asked for urgent help to repair the damage.These were the first storms of the season and the council fears that if work isn’t done urgently “the next storm could be devastating,” said municipal technician Juan Jose Fernandez.

Technical inspections of the widespread damage revealed the breakwater that had been damaged by storms the week before has now been broken altogether. Another storm could find the area unprotected and cause serious risks. The area has been left with large holes in roads, vast amounts of earth has been swept away from under seafront walls leaving them extremely fragile and liable to collapse.

Many underground pipes are under surveillance for fear they might break leaving the town without vital services. Although all of Axarquia-Costa Tropical beaches are affected, Torre del Mar’s worst-hit area was the western end of the seafront.

The breakwater near the aquapark, beaches, and La Barca beach bar will all need repairs. On top of this there is the clean-up operation to be addressed, as well as minor work such as clearing beaches and irrigation systems.

Torre del Mar Council said: “The storm caused serious damage including rock falls, broken urban furniture, beaches covered in debris, flooding, broken paths and various other problems. Emergency teams of Local Police officers and Civil Protection volunteers were sent out to deal with problems.”

Malaga government delegate Miguel Briones said Malaga City and the Axarquia areas were the worst hit and will be given priority for repairs, while commenting on the “alarming loss of sand and damage to almost all Axarquia beaches.”

As the Spanish government announces that it is studying a plan to help with repair costs, the general secretary of PSOE for Malaga criticised the fact that the government has now said it will provide emergency funds to help repair damage, when over the last four years it has hardly provided the coastal authorities in Malaga Province with a single penny.

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