Hailstorm batters Axarquia crops

A SHORT sharp hailstorm temporarily blanketed Alcaucin, La Viñuela, Canillas de Aceituno, Sedella, Salares and Archez in white.
With practically all local populations in lockdown, no accidents were reported although fruit trees and crops were badly damaged by the 20-minute battering, local growers complained.
Maintenance employees from the provincial council’s Roads and Public Works department worked all night to remove a layer of ice from the MA-4105 and MA-4106 in Canillas de Aceituna, Diputacion sources said.
In Sedella, 10 centimetres of hailstones damaged avocado plantations and vines, Mayor Francisco Abolafio Rodriguez told the local Spanish media.
The situation was made even worse, he added, because local growers seldom insured against hail.
Benjamin Fauli from the Asaja Malaga agricultural union, also quoted in the media, revealed that the hailstorm stripped recently-set almonds from the trees.
“Surprising, this has not affected olives, despite the large amount of hail that fell in some municipalities,” he said.