ARCHIVED - Murcia and Spanish news round-up week ending 24th August 2018
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All set for a sunny last weekend in August on the Costa Cálida after more storms hit inland areas of Murcia
The end of August and the busy summer season is fast approaching in the Costa Cálida, and over the last week the weather has been just about unsettled enough to suggest that autumn might actually be on the way!
Last week’s storms continued well into the weekend - on Saturday it was the turn of rural areas in the municipality of Moratalla to bear the brunt - but were followed by a few days of glorious sunshine all over Murcia before the clouds re-appeared with a vengeance on Thursday evening. Most of the Region was on yellow alert status during the afternoon, and sure enough brief but violent downpours hit a number of locations, with the official Aemet weather station in Yecla reporting rainfall of 24.4 millimetres in just half an hour. Roads in the town were under water for a while, and in many areas the rain turned to hail, even close to the city of Murcia.
In the mountains of Lorca, meanwhile, one of many lightning strikes caused a wild fire in Sierra del Buitre, with around 6,000 square metres of land affected.
Government support for Murcia crop farmers hit by August hailstorms: the estimate of the amount of land affected by the major storm last Thursday now stands at 3,570 hectares, with heavy rain and hail causing damage in the south-west and north-west of the Region. The worst affected areas were in the municipalities of Moratalla, Cehegín and Bullas.
On the coast, however, there was not a drop, and with calmer conditions returning over the weekend it appears that the last week of the month will bring more warm, sunny weather in which to enjoy the beaches of the Costa Cálida!
With the Mediterranean warmer than normal, thoughts are turning to the potential problems of the normal autumn storms and the risk of Gota Fría, which are highly localised, torrential downpours. These can cause serious floods and are notoriously difficult to predict. Six years ago 13 people died when a Gota Fría hit the Puerto Lumbreras and Lorca municipalities, and 4 years ago Camposol was also on the receiving end of torrential water, although in that particular case the flooding which ensued was caused not by rain which fell directly onto the urbanisation, but by water pouring down a rambla which had been constricted by the developer in order to create flat land on which to construct illegally built housing.
This week the new head of the CHS (the body which controls the waterways) and the new national Government Delegate for the Region of Murcia visited three locations which have been hit by Gota Fría; Puerto Lumbreras, Los Alcázares and Camposol to review the current situation ahead of the Gota Fría season: Head of the CHS visited areas where flooding has occurred in the past.
Although the visit was uncontroversial in Puerto Lumbreras and Los Alcázares, the Camposol situation is more complicated as the problems involving the rambla have been caused directly by the illegal actions of the developer, the failure of the town hall to prevent the developer from infilling a rambla and then compounded by the failure of the CHS to take action against both parties until several years later, by which time all the affected properties were inhabited by mainly foreign buyers who had purchased in good faith without knowing their properties were A, illegal and B, on top of a rambla infill.
In spite of a regional parliamentary investigation recommending that the three bodies concerned sit down with the regional government and residents to find a working solution to the problem, this has not yet happened, although plans are moving ahead to divert the rambla and create a more realistic water channel which could potentially cope with another Gota Fría situation.
During the visit of the officials to Camposol what can only be described as a "political bunfight" broke out between the parties concerned over the question of who will pay for the works and who will organise what. With local and regional elections now just months away, residents are hoping that political will to decisively resolve the situation before the elections may finally resolve the problems, although are also concerned that yet more promises may be made and not fulfilled, and the issues on Camposol be used for political propaganda without actually delivering the desired-for resolutions to the long-running problems.
Meanwhile, drain clearing has begun in various parts of the region to ensure that ramblas and public waterways are ready for the rainy season to come.
Tourism and beach news
Works contracted awarded for pedestrian street leading to the Mar Menor in Lo Pagán: 70,000 euros are being invested in the new beach access at the Playa de la Puntica at the northern end of the lagoon in the municipality of San Pedro del Pinatar.
Águilas designates no smoking beach: the Playa de la Higuerica becomes the 7th beach involved in the Playas sin Humo initiative in the Costa Cálida.
San Javier looking for volunteers for the arrival of cycling’s tour of Spain on 30th August: the 6th stage of the Vuelta a España runs along the coast of Murcia from Águilas to San Javier and there will be stands and activities all day on the seafront in Santiago de la Ribera.
The streets of Jumilla flow red with wine as thousands are soaked in the annual Cabalgata: Jumilla held its annual Cabalgata del Vino on Saturday and by 10 in the evening rivers of wine were literally flowing down the streets of the town: make a note to join in the fun next year!
Jellyfish and strong currents cause yellow warning flags at Costa Cálida beaches: changes in the behaviour of jellyfish off the Mediterranean and Mar Menor coasts of the Region of Murcia have brought good news to bathers in the Mar Menor but, in the long run according to the Spanish Oceanographic Institute, could represent a threat to the popularity of the Spanish Costas among beachgoers.
In past years the “fried egg” jellyfish (Cotylorhiza tuberculata) has been so common in the Mar Menor that every summer the regional government of Murcia installs anti-jellyfish netting at the beaches in order to protect bathers from this and other species. This summer, though, it is reported that very few have been caught in the nets, a phenomenon which appears to coincide with there being more sightings at Mediterranean beaches.
This, along with strong underwater currents, led to yellow “caution” flags being flown at 21 beaches in the Costa Cálida last Sunday, with some areas marked off by red flags to ban bathers from entering the water.
78-year-old bather dies at the beach in Lo Pagán: the fatality underlines the risks of elderly people bathing alone in the Mar Menor. Meanwhile a 93 year old is rescued from the El Alamillo beach in the Puerto de Mazarrón.
Agricultural and environmental news
Seaweed removal team returns to Los Urrutias: 30 cubic metres of seaweed were removed from the beach just a fortnight ago, and following another demonstration by local residents and homeowners last weekend the clean-up team is back in the area around the marina.
Multi-coloured tomato greenhouses for the Costa Cálida? Research suggests different colours may be beneficial for crops under plastic, and as a result the drab swathes of cream-coloured plastic which currently dominate the landscape in some coastal areas could at some point be replaced by multi-coloured patchwork designs!
Work has finally been completed on the repair and upgrading of the EDAR waste water treatment plant in the residential development of Camposol, in the north of Mazarrón, at a cost of 775,000 euros, while at the same time another 400,000 euros have been invested by water company Aqualia in the installation of a pumping station in Sector D and two water tanks in other parts of the development.
Other items in the Murcia news
OUCH! Emergency surgery for Lo Pagán man to remove magnets from his testicles: magnets attached to his bed apparently clamped shut on the man’s genitalia!
Algerian people trafficker arrested in Murcia: the man charged 900 euros per head for perilous voyages across the Mediterranean and was intercepted off Cabo de Gata in late July.
Cartagena police close late-night bars in La Manga: the “chringuitos” were set up in the Cavanna area of La Manga del Mar Menor, and exceeded the numbers of chairs and tables permitted while disturbing residents and tourists until the early hours of the morning.
Cartagena man arrested for running over and killing his own dog: witnesses urged him to stop but the man insisted he was putting the animal out of its misery!
Belgian caught red-handed stealing the holy chalice from Lorca church: the attempted theft took place at the Iglesia de San Mateo as locals awaited a procession on the national holiday of 15th August.
Yecla police capture 1.5-metre snake in the town centre: the ladder snake appears intimidating but its bite is not poisonous.
Injured walker rescued in Abanilla: the woman broke an ankle while walking along the spectacular course of the River Chícamo.
14-year-old rescues crew of blazing yacht in Puntas de Calnegre: the 8 metre long yacht was totally destroyed but young José Martínez saw the fire from the nearby campsite and paddled out to the yacht in a kayak to rescue the French owner.
11,000 euros of stolen cycling equipment recovered in Murcia and Cartagena: the thief targeted the Valverde Team, a youth project started by top Murcia cyclist Alejandro Valverde.
Proposal for pet cemetery a few kilometres from Cartagena: the owner of the land believes there is demand for a facility which is not available at present in the Region of Murcia.
Spanish news round-up: immigration still in the spotlight after violent assault on the Spanish border in Ceuta
Over recent weeks it has been hard to escape the issue of refugees and immigration in the Spanish headlines, and this week was a case in point although the focus switched from the attempts to cross the Mediterranean into Europe to the border fences separating Spain from Morocco in the north African enclave of Ceuta.
Around 300 Africans attempted to breach the barbed wire fences and 118 of them were successful after bottles containing human excrement, blood, quicklime and other substances were hurled at Guardia Civil border guards. Seven officers were injured and five migrants required hospital treatment after sustaining bad cuts on the fences, and the incident once again highlighted the fragility of Spain’s defences against unauthorized immigrants.
However, by Friday it emerged that a new hard-line approach has been adopted by the Spanish government following a similar break-in by 602 Africans a month ago, and all but two of the latest arrivals (the exceptions being minors) were fast-tracked back to Morocco as an agreement which was signed between the two countries in 1992 was invoked for only the second time.
Elsewhere there was bad news for drivers and air travellers in Spain this week, with diesel fuel prices continuing to rise sharply - a litre is now almost the same price as “normal” petrol – and Ryanair announcing that as of November non-priority passengers will be charged for taking hand luggage on board (the explanation is that this will help to reduce flight delays caused by excess hand baggage having to be stored in the hold).
Other economic news included the fact that government debt in this country has reached a new record high, no doubt due at least in part to the extent of the black economy in Spain: a report published recently estimates that the amount of tax revenue lost each year because of undeclared earnings would be enough to fund the entire public health service! Remember that when "paying cash" to those who are not declaring their earnings or full income in Spain.
Plenty of other incidents have also caught the eye, including the confiscation of 1,100 tortoises and turtles from a “factory farm” set up by two German nationals in Mallorca, the shooting down of a fanatic Islamist who burst into a Catalunya police station shouting “Allah is great” and the news that the King of Spain’s brother-in-law is already likely to receive a very special Christmas present in December 2019: his first exit permit from prison after serving just a few months of his sentence for fraud!
But above all of these, the stand-out crime story of the week involved an unusual murder in Alicante, where a 48-year-old woman was arrested after murdering her fourth husband with a screwdriver just a fortnight after their wedding. The killer is wheelchair-bound and received help from her carer, according to the evidence supplied by an off-duty police officer who witnessed the incident and rushed to the scene.
For more details on these and other stories scroll down below…
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